Ever Darkened
by The Lady Destiny
Summary: Annabella Vinci never thought this moment was going to come. She'd put up with a lot from Tony Stark, from Afghanistan to him becoming Iron Man. But this? She's got a raging manaic going after her reckless boyfriend, she's dying, and no one seems to care, including her. He can't leave just this moment alone, could he? "Will. You. Marry me?" TonyOC StarkOC Iron manOC
1. Think of me, think of me fondly

"You are clear for the drop zone." A male voice came over the radio.

"Get up." I snorted. Currently I was in almost full armor, wearing everything but the mask. My eyes had bags under them and about three years of my life to. My skin was paler then six months ago, hell then two days ago, even with a slight tan still hanging around from Italy. My hair had grown long enough where I had to install a suction cup in the back of the helmet to secure it.

Tony was acting like an idiot. He was bent over the toilet and I admit he looked pitiful but really. There was only so much exaggeration that I could take.

"I'm dying. This is it." Tony groaned, getting up and picking at the toilet paper to wipe his mouth. "I want 'Best Superhero' written on my grave." He was in his Iron Man suit and was taking up all of the room in the bathroom, and nearly crushing the roll of toilet paper there with his fingers, even as he wiped his mouth. Six months since what I like to call, the great reveal. He was practically unstoppable with his big head. I admit it was ego boosting to be Iron Woman. I'd even grown fond of the stupid title.

While I looked pale, so did Tony. The bags under his eyes were showing and his hair was a bit greasier than usual. Who has time for a bath when you're too busy vomiting whatever you've eaten that day into the toilet?

"I'm thinking about writing, 'World's biggest Asshole' on it instead." I told him as I helped him up, clutching the upper arms of his armor. "No more dramatization. I've vomited two times today, and you don't see me complaining. We've got to get ready to drop." I released him so that we could walk together to the back of the plane. "Now, do you remember what to do?"

"Yeah, yeah." He waved me away even if he still looked quite woozy himself. "I need to just ask you one thing. It's important."

"What is it?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"How does my hair look?" Tony asked, flipping his head in an exaggerated fashion. I chuckled, and grinned. Tony always knows how to make me laugh, even sickly looking.

"Greasy." I snapped playfully, putting my helmet on. Automatically it lit up and as the door opened, and Tony opened his mouth to complain, I took a running jump start off of the platform. Technically this 'Stark Expo' was for Tony but he had insisted I go to this with him. Granted that he'd insisted while I'd been snuggled in his arms, about to fall asleep. Who was I to say no?

"JARVIS, kick us into the sound they're playing." I ordered, kicking the thrusters on to avoid the over the top fireworks that were going off. Tony laughed, and I rolled back. Tony was going to be landing on stage, but I was going to be subtly landing backstage. I wasn't even supposed to be on the actually drop plane. It had been his stupid idea, so we could 'spend more time together' as he put it.

"Have fun." I shouted over the ACDC currently flooding our ears. I liked the band as much as the other fans, but it must be his signature music. He loves ACDC.

"See you after." He told me back, as he landed and I maneuvered expertly through the bars of the roof in the back of the stage, landing peacefully at the back.

"JARVIS, activate case mode." I ordered, and waited as the suit fell off and made a briefcase, with the hole for the arc reactor in the middle. Good times. I picked it up by the handle, and a piece of the handle shot out to latch on to my bracelet. This was a way to make sure that nobody could simply snatch it from my wrist. Easy, and a firm way to tell everybody I wasn't letting go of it.

Instead of bothering to make small talk, with people I didn't know, I walked to the edge of the stage, where they had set up a nice little chair for me to watch from. I'd told them to have me a seat waiting because tonight was only the beginning. The Stark Expo was going to go on all year, and I can almost guess that I was going to be here for most of it. Tony would be at the heart of it though.

Why did he even still want to do this with death nipping at our heels, I have no idea. I guess it was a moment of pride for him, a way to leave a legacy. That's how he put it to me anyway. When I arrived the dancing girls were just heading off stage, and I rolled my eyes and wrinkled my nose at them. That was still a fight waiting to happen but it was _necessary_. I mean the suits they wore were skinny at any point and probably chaffing. I know I wouldn't be caught dead wearing them. They were a complete misrepresentation of my suit.

The crowd itself was massive. No one was in a seat, instead pilled as close as they could get together so that they could hold up their little LED lights that worked for fake gauntlets. We had a patent, of course, on anything related to the Iron suit's as they were being called.

The _Iron Couple _was practically all over the pages. Again, a name that I really thought was overly cheesy. Maybe that's what they wanted though. I'm sure Gold-titanium alloy woman wasn't nearly as catchy. Or Tony tried to persuade me.

The crowd was screaming for Tony and I saw a few cosplayers with a plastic version of my suit. I was fond of the cosplayers, most of them weren't stupid, and took it seriously. And that means I don't have to see them wearing the new Victoria Secret's version. A joke from Tony about the incident with my panties.

"Oh, it's good to be back." Tony said, facing my direction and clapping his hands. I twisted the golden MIT ring on my finger, tucking my feet under me. I wore a tan and black short dress, that was easy enough to get into the suit seeing as it was pretty tight. JARVIS was programed to work around my outfit when he put the armor on me. It didn't mean it wasn't uncomfortable. And my hair was merely tied back at the sides by a clip.

Tony was wearing a sort of tux, with pinstripes and a strange jacket, a black bowtie and a white dress shirt. He turned around, holding out his arms. "You missed me?"

"Blow something up!" A fan close to the stage, and rather loud over the screaming, shouted at Tony.

"I missed you to." Tony looked in the general direction of the shouting fan. "Blow something up? I already did that." He pointed before turning around and trying to be serious. He looked dead, a kind of cocky serious. It looked delicious on him, but most anything he wears makes him look delicious. It may just be because I'm bias. Six months of being taken on random vacations, or dates as he insisted calling them, makes up for all of his daily shit. Not because he has money, but because he wants to show me he cares. Or I guess that's the reason. Tony may be a romantic, but God it's hard to get a straight answer out of him sometimes.

"I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of Anna and me. I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history." He threw out his arms and bowed his head for the applause that came. I giggled at his dramatization. It was working, but it made me giggle just because. "I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone whose man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day."

Narcissistic bastard. He was going to get himself into a lot of trouble with his big head one day. "Excuse me." I heard a small voice. I blinked and looked down seeing a small, maybe six year old girl there. "My Mommy is working and she told me not to get in the way for a little bit. Can I sit with you?" She asked, shuffling her feet. I noticed the battered action figure of me in her hands and I grinned down at her cuteness. She was even wearing a little dress.

"Of course. Can I pick you up?" I asked, and she held out her arms in answer. The Iron case would adjust to my hold on her, just like it did when I sat down. "Let's watch Tony be overly dramatic, okay?" I picked her up, and sat her back down on my lap, squirming back to get comfortable. I figured her mother would come for her soon anyways. It doesn't mean I can't enjoy the time I have with one of my adorable fans. The little ones are always the best, and cutest.

"-about legacy." Tony continued. I wrapped my arms around the girl's waist when she began to move around trying to get balanced. "It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations." His arms were behind his back and I set my head, tentatively on the girls as I sighed. It was almost a little cue to the public, we weren't exactly healthy. "And that's why for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources," He cupped his hands. "Share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future."

The crowd started to cheer but Tony didn't let them. "It's not about us. Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo." He finished. His charisma was wonderful. The crowd went wild for a second or two with approval.

"Hey, I need you to move for a second, okay?" I asked. I put her on the stool and hurried on stage, making sure to smooth my dress down first. Glancing back right before I became visible I could see her pouting but sitting in my chair quietly, right next to the case which was sitting down, automatically detached by JARVIS.

As soon as I was on stage the crowd started screaming again and I smiled, swaggering up to Tony's side. His arm went around my waist in a familiar, comfortable half embrace as I did my part.

"And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's all about," I said, gesturing back to the large screen behind us that currently had the Stark Expo logo lazy twirling across it.

"Please welcome, my father, Howard." Tony also gestured back to the screen. As the video started, and the screen cut to black Tony and I walked off stage, unseen. Tony walked to the refreshment table, a few feet off to the side of my chair but I walked back to the little girl whose eyes were wide.

"You're Ms. Anna!" She shouted with surprise.

"I sure am." I told her, bending down so I could pick her up and balance her on my hip. She really was adorable with her saucers for eyes and brown hair. She was adorable in all senses of the word. "Would you like to meet Tony?" I asked her, walking towards him. She pouted. Grabbing my case I let it sink back into my bracelet. I really love JARVIS.

"No! I want to meet you!" She announced, pushing the action figure into my chest. I took it with a chuckle and grinned at her.

"Well you can. I'm Anna Vinci, or Iron Woman. And who are you?" I asked, holding out my fingers for her to shake, since my palm held the action figure.

"I'm Amanda." She puffed out her chest. "And I'm six!" She flipped her hair out of her face and I stopped beside Tony. He had the portable toxicity device out and was just sucking on his finger, hopefully to get the blood off of it.

"And who is this little cutie?" Tony asked, looking at the girl.

"She's my number one fan of course. Aren't you?" I made a pouty face, trying to imitate Tony. She giggled and poked my cheek.

"Amanda? Amanda?" I heard from behind me. I turned to see a woman running around, a short black dress and long brunette hair. She was frantically looking around for her daughter.

"Momma!" Amanda called out. The woman turned towards the sound of her daughter's voice and I winked at Tony. She nearly ran over and took her from my arms hastily. I missed the weight of her on my hip, but my hip didn't miss it.

"Oh, thank you Ms. Vinci. I hope she wasn't a problem." She told me then looked lovingly, if not a little still worried, at her daughter.

"Oh, she was wonderful. She's really adorable." I told her Mom, picking through Tony's jacket looking for what I knew would be there, ah a sharpie. I opened the sharpie and signed the action figure, to the squealing of the little girl. I handed it back, tugging on a lock of hair. "Why don't you put a call in with my PR manager? I'd love to get to know little Amanda here." I told the mother, holding out my hand. "I'm Anna Vinci."

"Amelia Parker." She said, her cheeks flushed. "I'd love to let you spend time with Amanda, she never shuts up about you." Now the mother looked exasperated. I chuckled while Tony could no longer hold his tongue.

"How can you not love me?" He finally burst, pouting for Amanda. She wasn't affected.

"Because Ms. Vinci is a girl! She kicks butt and names names!" She exclaimed.

"Kicks butts and takes names." I corrected, winking at her. "Don't mind Tony. He's a little bit of a jealous bee, tonight." I told her. "I've got to go now, okay? But if you want to talk to me just let my PR know. Okay?" Currently my PR was as close as they could get. Not because I was some uptight superstar. I didn't have a secretary yet and neither does Tony. With the amount of secretaries Tony has gone through I was thinking that I was going to have to do it.

"Bye, Ms. Vinci!" She called as I walked away, dragging Tony by his tux lapel.

"Don't be jealous Tony." I told him, as he took my hand from his lapel and twined our fingers together loosely. "Now let's get changed so we can leave. I'm looking forward to a night or two with the armor before we go off to Monaco."

"All right, it's a zoo out there, watch out." Happy said, taking Tony's jacket. I had changed into a lime green blouse and a pair of black skinny jeans with heels about the length of my hand. Why high heels were the only thing they had, I'll never know. I think it was Tony's scheme to be truthful. He says they make my ass look better. I should have hit him harder when he said that because apparently he didn't get the message. I sighed, waiting as he put the jacket on his back. I was going to have to test my own blood soon, and I didn't look forward to it.

"Ready?" Tony asked, looking back at me. I grinned, even as the last of my energy was leaving me. Before we even did this show we had been in the Iron suits for a good four hours, helping people to work with an explosion that happened by a terrorist attack in Boston. All of those poor people left dying on the streets and the best that we could do was carry them to a hospital or medical personnel. At least we did that.

"As I'll ever be." I said, reaching my arm forward and winding our fingers together. Still the level of affection he shows me now takes me by surprise.

"At least we have Monaco to look forward to in a few days." Tony told me, holding me close, nodding to Happy to start our track out the door, before he squeezed my hand. We'd have to let go to get there because of the fans that needed our attention. And there were a lot of fans.

"Hi!" I exclaimed, laughing as a couple came up to me, rambling a general I love you story. "Thank you; oh I love your jacket." I complimented. I really try to make my fans feel like I appreciate them. I mean, I can't remember all of them but it's nice for them if I make it remember able to them. And plus her jacket was really nice. "Where'd you get it?"

"Belk." She said, flushing. I smiled as I began to move to the next person to shake their hand.

"I'll have to get one. JARVIS add to my list." I told JARVIS, who was in my phone in my pocket. In one hand I still held the Iron case but it didn't hinder my shaking of hands. Even as a man with a complete business suit was the next in line. I only smiled and laughed. Tony and I walked through the crowd, with Happy trying to get us through, having to yank Tony away from a female who was whispering for him to call her. I took the number from his hand and threw it over his shoulder, scowling.

Then two little kids waited for us, one I knew.

"Hello Amanda. And how did you get out here so fast?" I teased, taking the picture of Tony and me together, signing it. I kicked Tony who was shaking the hand of some fake busted lady. He turned around and saw the little girl and took the picture I was handing out to him. I took the picture that the boy standing next to her had in his hands. "Who is this, your brother?"

"He's my brother!" She confirmed. The boy had a mask, an Iron man mask on but I laughed.

"Can I sign your mask? It's so much better than mine." I asked, pouting. He nodded quickly and rapidly, almost causing it to come off. I laughed and used his sharpie to sign it right across the forehead. I leant forward and kissed it, leaving a lip mark. "Keep Amanda safe for me, okay?" I asked him, shaking the embarrassed father's hand. I could tell he was also confused as to how I knew his daughters name. I figure he'd get the story from their mother later.

"Remember what I told you!" I called as I was ushered away by Happy, with Tony who had ruffled the back of the brother's hair and kept going through the line. I shook hands, even laughing with Larry from the Oracle or something I had a feeling that by Happy's introduction I was supposed to know him. I just kept moving down the stairs and following after Tony, trying to catch up. Then Larry King came along at the bottom. A nice old man, with thick glasses and white hair smoothed back.

"It's good to meet you, Larry." I told him, kissing his cheek. "Have a good night?"

"Yes, yes." He assured me. "I loved it."

I kept walking, even as we went into a sharp corridor where everybody clapped us through the doors, where we broke free from the fans. "That wasn't bad." I noted, slowing to walk next to Tony and Happy as security stopped the fans from coming through the doors to us.

"Yeah, mellow, wasn't it?" Happy said, now somehow holding Tony's jacket. I grinned when Tony put his arm around my shoulders for a second and agreed.

"No, it was perfect." He told us, and Happy opened the door so that I could slide into the passenger seat of Tony's new Audi. It really was a nice car, and since Tony pretty much built it was good. He worked on this thing for at least two days when he got it. While I was getting inside a woman came up to us. My eyebrows rose as I realized she wasn't a wayward fan.

"Hello, and what is your name?" I asked, smiling anyways.

"Marshal." She said. She looked rather nice I guess.

"Irish. I like it." Tony said, walking to get into the car, while also putting the hood down with the car keys. Happy stayed off to the side as he was taking his black SUV to his house, so that he could be ready in the morning to come with us to Monaco. "Where you from?" He asked, almost absent-mindedly. I buckled my seat belt and leaned back into the seat. It had such comfortable seats.

"Bedford."

"And what are you doing here?" I asked her, looking back up from the seat.

"Looking for you two." She said. "I'm here to serve you a subpoena." She told us, holding out a subpoena, predictably reaching over me to give it to Tony. If I had a million for every time a woman decided to try to get at Tony, I'd be even richer. After a second of Tony staring at the paper and screwing his face up I rolled my eyes and took it while he turned to look forward.

"He doesn't like to be handed things." I told her in explanation as I began to open the envelope.

"Yeah, I have a peeve." Tony said. I scowled sideways at his face. A peeve was not this big. He wouldn't say as much but I knew it was a side effect of the cave. We both have side effects of the cave.

"You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee, tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m." This Marshal told me. I raised my eyebrow when I realized it was only Tony's name on the order. Looks like they were going to try and separate us. This has happened once before, though they've tried multiple times to get us to go to court with them. Now we were being ordered.

"Can I see a badge?" Tony asked, after trying to smooth out his forehead, or his headache, with his hand. He's been getting a lot of headaches and I was starting to feel one coming on. Probably another palladium poisoning thing. I wouldn't put it past it now. I was becoming skinny again with the amount of times I've thrown up lately. I was eating at least every forty minutes to try and counter act the weight loss.

"You wanna see the badge?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at him in what I suppose was supposed to be a sexy manner because she was making eyes at him. If I could have the energy right about now I'd be offended. Instead I just put the paper back in the envelope.

"He likes the badge." Happy supplied for Tony. The 'Marshal' woman held up her little badge.

"You still like it?" She asked, as Tony turned the car on.

"Yep." Tony answered and she moved back. Tony turned to me.

"How far are we from D.C. Anna?" He asked me. I pursed my lips and tilted my head.

"D.C? 250 miles I'd say." I told him, and squealed quietly when he hit the gas, with no more words to the woman. "Ugh, don't think you're getting out of this." I warned. "You are still taking me to Monaco. I haven't seen the race there before." Now that we were alone I took his jacket, which had been put in between our seats. Inside of the pocket was the toxicity checker. I put my index finger to it. As I waited Tony answered.

"We'll still go. How long do you think it'll take for me to annoy them?" He asked me in return, still speeding through traffic. I winced as we almost got boxed in by a truck and a van.

"First few minutes. I give them ten all together." I told him, pulling my hand away.

16%.

**Here it is guys.**

**I am so sorry it took me so long to get this out. I really wasn't exoecting it to take me so long. Recently I went on vacation and the hotel had wifi but it was literally so bad that I couldn't pull up my profile. It was horrible. I've been going through withdrawal. But I'm here and so is this story.**

**I hope it'll live up to your expectations. I've run into some problems with how I'm going to make Iron man 3 with this, but hopefully I can think it out. I'm hoping when IM3 comes out on DVD I'll be able to watch it until I come up with a good idea. I've typed out a good bit of Thor so I'm putting it up soon. I'm going to make an icon for me where both Anna and Thor's OC is on it. Nonetheless it's for me to worry about.**

**I have a question though.**

**Can you tell me what you think of Anna? Or maybe your impression of her? I'm curious because I went through a lot of effort on her.**


	2. When we've said goodbye

"Turn around." I hissed, moving my finger.

"Mr. Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Mr. Stark. Please." The Senator was trying to get Tony's attention.

"Yes, dear?" Tony asked, turning around finally. Honestly, I knew how he wanted his hotdogs. I glanced back. We'd had a small break in the 'trial' and I'd seen Coulson. He was here for support. With all of the call for the Iron couple I still hadn't taken very much of a part in S.H.I.E.L.D. or at least as much as I want to. I've scoped out some things, and now that Director Fury knew that I was interested he'd actually started giving accurate reports of activity. I suspected he wasn't being really _truthful_ or telling me anything that was important.

"Can I have your attention?" The Senator asked, widening his eyes. He had obviously had Botox all in his cheeks because he could barely make any kind of facial expression. The Senator wasn't even being nice about trying to take our suits or Tony's suit for now.

"Absolutely." Tony answered, turning fully back around. He was wearing a suit now, a grey one with stripes and a white suit under. His tie was yellow with blue stripes. I'd picked this suit out. It was just a suit we'd packed for Monaco but it was being used now. It didn't matter we'd just buy another suit when we got there if we needed to. We had planned to spend the two days until Monaco in the house but not now.

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" The Senator, a Stern. I refused to acknowledge his name because it just didn't fit with the Botoxed and 'can barely tell I'm angry because I've had so much work done' face. He was an old man with a suit just like the others around him, a red tie with yellow dots.

"I do not." Tony answered, on his game today. We'd stayed in a hotel last night and nearly passed out on top of the covers. I could barely get him to get a bath. He tried to use the excuse that we didn't have to smell good for the government. He was surely becoming an anti-government person. With their attitude I can't say I feel bad for them.

"You do not?" Senator looked surprised, or I think he did. Seriously, who needs that much work done on themselves.

"I do not." Tony repeated, and then because he hates to repeat himself, he added on to it. "Well, it depends on how you define the word 'weapon'."

"The Iron Man weapon. Or the Iron Woman weapon." He gestured to me where I was sitting behind Tony. I snorted softly, smiling when I knew the cameras were on me but the moment they were off I took my phone out. I wanted to text Happy and get him to go get us something to eat. Tony wanted hotdogs of course, but I've seen what goes into those things and I'll not be eating that.

"Our device, or even just mine, does not fit that description." Tony told him, very blatantly not liking the Senator. I didn't even bother to look up from my phone, still typing.

"Well, how would you describe it?" The Senator asked.

"I would describe it as what it is, Senator." Tony continued when prompted by the man he was talking to. The others had given up hope already. "It's a high-tech prosthesis." This caused me to groan because Tony couldn't even pretend to be obedient. One day that's going to get him in a lot of trouble and not in a good way. Others in the court laughed and Tony tried to make up for it. "That's actually the most apt description I can make of it."

"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. Stark." Botox man seemed to be getting fed up. Tony was doing well, but he had long passed the ten minute time period I'd thought.

"Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen.." Tony was cut off before he could make it worse. I can just see his temper sky rocketing as the Senator kept pressing on the issue.

"My priority is to get the Iron Suits weapon turned over to the people." Tony was rubbing his head. Another headache I suppose. My Vinci phone vibrated, and I looked down to see Happy telling me he got my message and asking me what I wanted. "Of the United States of America."

"Well you can forget it." Tony responded. "I am Iron Man, she is Iron Woman." I looked up to see me being gestured to. I smile but didn't put my phone up. I wasn't worried right now. Yeah I would be if they had any kind of anything to stick on us but the suit was private property and I'd made sure to make it within our rights. "The suits and we are one. To turn over my suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you're in. You can't have it." The court laughed but I eyed Tony. The longer he went the more he looked like he was getting worse.

This palladium poison was really wearing on Tony and I. My headache was throbbing in my left temple and I reached up to rub at it but it wasn't helping. "Look I'm no expert…" Senator started but Tony cut in.

"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on." Again the court laughed and Tony actually turned around to me to get my opinion and I shook my head but the smile on my face was not missed because he smiled back, winking before turning around as the Senator spoke again.

"I'm no expert in weapons." Botox said again. "We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons." My stomach dropped into my stomach as the name came out of his mouth. "I'd now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

"**You let him walk all over you, Anna." My boyfriend gritted his teeth as he took me away from the room where Tony currently had five girls all over him. Tony had the gal to expect me to join in and grab a guy to hang out with. My tears were just escaping as we exited the room. **

"**I'm sorry okay. He's my best friend-"**

"**No, people don't have best friends like that." Justin argued. He was a good few years older than me that didn't stop me. He'd gotten to me when I was vulnerable and I was regretting it as his hand clenched painfully down on my upper arm. "If I didn't know any better I'd say that you loved him."**

"**No, Justin!" I shouted, even as his hand came up to my throat in threat. "It's just a friend thing. I've known him for a long time. I swear, it's just you." I pleaded, hoping I didn't have to hide another mark from the press.**

"**It better be." He grunted.**

The Justin Hammer that stood up now was nowhere near as intimidating as the Justin Hammer then I'd known. In his youth Justin had been bulky and with very little brains. When he took over the company in place of his boss, his father, he'd slimmed down and grown even more stupid, but he let himself think he was clever.

And he might have been just a little bit of clever, but I wouldn't notice. What he does is use his strength or his money now, to his advantage to bully everyone around him. My grip on my phone tightened and I swallowed convulsively as I watched him like a hawk. For two years I watched him closely after our relationship (If you can call it that) until I was sure he wasn't going to kill me. My fear of him hadn't gone away, but I'd forced myself to stop checking on him, to stop keeping tabs of where he was so he couldn't get the drop on me.

I wasn't the only one to hate the presence of Justin Hammer. Tony wasn't happy either, but he had no idea what had happened between Justin and I. Justin and I had been when Tony was deep in the drink and women, back a little after our early college. Justin had just been in college then. He was now the CEO of Hammer Industries and the DOD, Primary Systems Contractor for the military.

"Let the record reflect that I observed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance." Tony sassed. It comforted me a little that Tony didn't like him either, even if it was for some other reason. Maybe he just hated Justin because he was the new weapons contractor. Who knows with Tony? I'm just glad that I won't have to put up with him.

This is just a brief meeting, and I won't have to even talk to him. It's that simple, just moments of listening to him speak and then I'm free of him again. Justin, poor Justin didn't know what he was up against with Tony. There would be no charming Tony or even possibly making him like you. If he doesn't like you, there is very little to do about it but pray something happens that ends up with him liking you.

Justin took his sip of water and dragged the microphone closer to him, the idiot.

"Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony." Justin said. I swallowed again, and tugged on a lock of my hair. "I defer to Annabella." I almost flinched but the cameras were on me and I looked at Tony when he glanced at me, instead of looking at Justin when he gestured back to me. I winked at Tony, hoping beyond any measure that now would be one of the times he couldn't read my expressions.

"You two are the wonder twins." He complimented. I could feel one of his biting remarks coming up any time now. That's what he was best at, making you think that he was being good and then tearing you down. "Senator, if I may. I might not be an expert, but you know who was _the_ expert?" Justin stood up, taking the microphone with him. Stupid idiot Justin. To think I used to think he was cute, way back when. "Your dad. Howard Stark."

The furious sound that came out of my mouth had the man next to me scooting away. Justin would bring that up. He knew that Howard and Tony didn't have a good relationship. That's just perfect. Tony kept a straight face but the clench of his fist didn't go missed by me as he looked exasperated at Justin's presence.

"Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age." Justin dug deeper. "Let's just be clear. He was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet he insists, that along with Annabella Vinci, that it's a shield." I licked my lips and mashed them together. It wasn't exactly attractive but by this point I might as well have looked wild. "He asks us to trust him as we cower behind both of the suits." He turned to Tony to continue. The use of Tony's full name didn't get passed me. Justin _hated _Tony with the passion of a thousand fires.

"I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada." He licked his lips and took a breath. I was now glaring daggers at him. I just wanted this to be over. "You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee, or Ms. Vinci for that matter." I looked back to Tony.

The sight of him actually did very little to calm me down. That was a new experience. I was Iron Woman, and I'd taken out a bunch of nameless enemies, and here I was scared of some ex-boyfriend who was pissed off at me and my current boyfriend. What kind of person does that make me?

"Thank you." Justin said, even as Tony unperceptively shook his head. "God bless Iron Man. God bless America." He acted as if he was only making a speech, and not in court. Honestly, right about now all I want to do is ditch this place and go to Monaco already with Tony and just drink myself so drunk that the palladium speeds up and kills me where I stand.

I rubbed my forehead again as my headache throbbed extra powerful, as if to scold me for my thoughts. Everyone gave a polite clap for Justin, and the Senator looked pleased with him as he sat forward.

"That is well said, Mr. Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber." The Senator read off of his sheet. I blinked and turned around as someone walked down the aisle. There Rhodey was, walking. I stood up to greet him.

"Back from your tour already?" I asked, accepting a hug from him when he stopped on his way.

"It was an order, I'm not complaining." Rhodey shrugged, continuing as I sat back down, answering a text message from Happy about them being out of my chicken sandwich. I told him to get me a chicken salad instead. Tony stood up as well to shake Rhodey's hand and greet him as well, nearly accusing him if the slightly strained smile on his face was anything. As Rhodey sat down Tony did as well and the Senator started again.

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, compiled by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57 paragraph four?" The Botox idiot asked.

"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodes questioned, subtly the quality of the Senator's intelligence. I chuckled lowly, again making the man next to me look at me. I turned and eyed him as well.

"Yes, sir."

"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner." Rhodes answered, glancing at Tony who was just raising his eyebrows in expectation. God, he really looked bad with the bags under his eyes and yet I couldn't help but feel the love for him that almost controlled my thoughts, bubble up in my throat. He was just as gorgeous to me as he was when I first realized that I loved him.

"I understand. A lot of things have changed today." Botox answered, looking even a little bit frazzled. Indeed he had looked confident when he'd stepped in the room. "If you could just read…"

"You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary of my final…" Rhodes tried to save himself.

"Just read it, Colonel. I do, thank you." He smiled, or as well as he could with those plastic lips he has. Seriously, who needs that much plastic in their face? I mean no harm to people who do it, but I just don't understand it.

"Very well." Rhodes said, opening the files in front of him and flipped to the right page. Tony just turned completely to him, and looked prepared to sass back to whatever the Senator was having Rhodes read out of context. "As they do not operate within any definable branch of government," Rhodes paused, shaking his head. I knew this was no good. "Iron Man and Woman present a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests." My own eyebrows rose. When did we ever even give off the idea that we were going to harm any American citizen? "I did however go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities." Rhodes rushed on even as the Senator tried to cut him off. "And it would be in our interest to fold Mr. Stark and Ms. Vinci into our chain of command."

Tony leaned forward to interject. "I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of defense, if you ask nice. We can amend the hours a little bit." Tony said, the court laughing again. He looked serious though and I let a breathy laugh out at the mental image of Tony behind a desk for more than an hour. He could barely stand to do the paperwork he does now.

"I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report." Senator Botox said, gesturing to a large T.V. that had been set up.

"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time." Rhodes tried again only to be shot down by the Senator who was in higher command.

"With all due respect, Colonel, I understand." He laid his hand on his chest to get that point across. "And if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful." Rhodes took another drink of water, nervously but gestured for them to carry on. A picture of a complex, with a dot that had been zoomed in on showed up on the screen. "Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark, and sometimes Ms. Vinci's suit."

These pictures were clearly blurred out for a reason, to cause panic where there shouldn't be any.

Enraged I pulled up my phone, working it to start hacking into the S.H.I.E.L.D. database. They would have copies of this, and better pictures. I was tired of them just trashing Tony and expecting me to just sit here and let them. It's as if they don't even realize that I was fiercely protective of him. Some people just don't do their background checking.

I began to get through the firewall as Rhodes continued with the blurry pictures.

"This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground," Rhodes continued. I really need to update S.H.I.E.L.D.'s safety wall because they aren't doing so well. "Indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational." At this I stood up, swaggering forward.

"Hold on, Rhodey. Let me see something here." I smirked, sitting in Tony's lap as if this wasn't a fancy meeting, and as if it didn't thrill me to do so. I pointed the transparent phone at the T.V. screen. "Wow, I'm good, under two seconds." I said, watching in amusement as everyone sat forward at my sudden involvement, even Tony. "I commandeered your screens." I put in for those not so tech savvy as to know what was going on. "I need them. Time for a little transparency." I almost sang as I pointed the phone at the screen on the other side of the Senator's podium desks.

Data boxes appeared as JARVIS happily, and sassily hacked into the screens. The A.I. listened in on our phones to everything that goes on. He must not have been happy with the people threatening us. He threw in, as I commandeered the screens, a little 'Welcome Ms. Vinci' to the screen in ones and zeroes. "Now let's see what's _really_ going on shall we?"

"What is she doing?" The Senator Botox asked, looking down to Justin. But the thing is, Justin doesn't make the things for his company like Tony and I do. He has not tech know how at all, and had scientist and inventors in heaps making things for him. Pathetic, and yet I couldn't even look at him. Instead I set the phone down on the table, flicking through the pictures, trying to decide which to go with first. Tony maneuvered his arms under my own arms and picked one.

"If you would direct your attention to said screens…" Tony. I winked at Rhodes. "I believe that's North Korea." Tony finished. A video came up with a horribly pathetic, sci-fi looking twenty foot monstrosity came on the screen. It was stepping out of the hanger but it never made it that far before it tumbled over, overbalancing. People in the back stood up but I happily hmmed, picking another one, just as the other one began to shoot off bullets that were activated by its tumble.

"Can you turn that off? Take it off." The Senator tried to command Justin. I risked a peripheral glance and saw him glaring at both of our directions. I chose another picture.

"Iran." I teased, watching as the robot fell out of the sky, having been another horribly disproportioned adaptation of our suits. Justin was trying to get the screen off, but like I've noted before, no tech savvy. He couldn't press the button to turn it off, because JARVIS deactivated that function when he took it over.

"No grave immediate threat here." Tony said and I almost cackled when I chose the next one. "Is that Justin Hammer?"

"Oh, that's just unflattering." I mock pouted as a suit came on, decent _looking _but I could already see that the tech was completely wrong, by the way it bulged too much in places. Such as the boobs. He'd obviously been the only one to try and make my suit. "How did Hammer get in the game?" I teased, nastily as the man himself became more frantic trying to get it to stop and having no success.

The Hammer on the screen asked the suit pilot to raise her leg and she did.

"Justin you're on T.V., focus up." Tony joined in, the anger clear in his eyes even as one of his hands snuck to entangle with mine, almost like it was absent-minded. A flutter of contentment wrestled with my palpitating heart. I laughed as Tony met Rhodes eyes and Rhodes had to hide the smirk on his face. Tony's 'I told them not to mess with me' face came into play.

Justin on-screen spoke again. "Okay, give me a left twist. Left's good. Turn to the right." The left was good, but as soon as the machine started to twist to the right the controls malfunctioned, or the energy source was too much, not enough or whatever. The suit twisted too far, as he hadn't thought of the human's limitations in making the suits. We could hear a muffled scream from the woman inside and I even winced at that. Finally Justin managed to cut the T.V.'s power by finally just unplugging it.

"Wow." Tony said, all sass with his head tilted. He leant back, pressing a hand to my stomach to set me back on his chest. Have I mentioned that despite being on the verge of dying, that I love my life right now? Senator Botox looked like he was currently having my headache.

"Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, 10 years away. Hammer Industries 20." Tony gestured to the cut off screen. Indeed.

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." Hammer hastened to assure, moving back to his microphone. His furious gaze met mine and I smirked, even as a chill ran along my spine.

"I think we're done, is the point that he's making." The Senator cut in, having stood up. He was finally fed up with us. He lasted a little longer than most. "I don't think there's any reason-"

"The point is, you're welcome." I shot up, that bubble of anger coming back as he tried to handle the situation.

"For what?" The Senator asked, harshly and Tony rose behind me, pushing our chair back.

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe, America is secure." Tony answered. Just to creep people out, as I'm told it does, I started finishing Tony's sentences with more sentences.

"You want our property? You can't _have _it." I put both of my hands on the table, looking Botox in the face as Tony finished.

"I have successfully privatized world peace." He turned around, holding up two peace signs and I rolled my eyes as everyone else clapped in agreement, standing for us, or Tony. I didn't really care. Instead I took the sunglasses from the table, as the cameras started to go crazy. "What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns." Tony turned around to point at them. I laughed hysterically at that insult. I've never actually heard that before. _Ass-Clowns._

"Fuck you, Mr. Stark. Fuck you, buddy." The Senator finally burst. I laughingly kissed my palms and held them out to him, as Tony held up his hand to his ear, then grabbed his own sunglasses off the table. "We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today."

"Okay." Tony cutely commented.

"You've been a delight." Botox said, smiling sarcastically. Oh I'm getting this video for my technology scrapbook. This is a good memory. Tony blew kisses, holding up a thumbs-up. I turned around, prepared to leave, and saw Justin standing and taking a step towards me. I panicked, walking down the aisle and shaking hands with a few people as I went when they held their hands out.

"My bond is with the people." I shouted, laughing as one of the girls whistled. She had on a feminist shirt on. I gave her a thumb up and hugged her.

"I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself." Tony kept going. "If there's one thing I've proven it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself." He flipped his sunglasses off and took my waist, walking out of the room.

"Well that was fun." I cheered. Tony cackled almost.

"I believe you owe me money."

"What?"

"Hey, he lasted over ten." I groaned, reaching for my phone. It looks like I just lost a good horse from my ranch in Mississippi. That's alright I don't go there that often any more. I guess it's a good thing I didn't bet my Lamborghini.

**This is awkward. Sorry it took me this long to actually post this. I've always just been about to post and then I'd get distracted. I hope you liked it at least. **

**For those who wanted to know, and have kept asking me.**

**Yes.**

**I am going to be doing the Avengers.**

**I don't know when, but it is happening.**

**I plan on doing Iron man 3, but I don't know how yet. Can you even actually see Anna in Iron man 3?**

**Anyway, I hope you like it and if you don't know it, I've posted the ThorOC first chapter. I should probably get on uploading that as well.**


	3. Remember me once in a while

"Wake up, the parents are home." Tony said, snapping his fingers. He was sitting in front of his hologram screens at his new desk. Four days ago we finally finished renovations on the Malibu complex.

I chuckled, having been working at my own station right behind his. They were little kidney tables. They weren't _supposed _to be, they weren't in the papers, but I looked and saw JARVIS' code all over it. Speaking of our `bots. You was over in the corner and Dummy was pouring more gross chlorophyll, to which I was drinking some of right now.

"Welcome home, sir." JARVIS answered Tony. "Ma'am." It wasn't official, Tony didn't ask or anything, but I was pretty much moved in. All of my important things were here, I'd even moved over my favorite two cars to sit in the garage part of the workshop. I'd helped design the new shop, and even perfected the machine development center.

"Congratulations on the opening ceremonies." JARVIS pulled up a video on YouTube up on my screen, and a glance at Tony's screen he was showing it to him to. "They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing." And that was the video, me cockily slipping on my sunglasses, and Tony's grin. I laughed, taking a long disgusting drink of the drink in my hand. It really was horrible but after so long of drinking the stuff, it wasn't that bad. "And may I say how refreshing it is to see you in a video with your clothes on, sir." Tony giggled at his joke.

"Yeah, a relief to you and me both, JARVIS." I noted, flipping through a folder of hard copies of some things that Daniel, the overseer of our construction had faxed over. "Hey Tony, Daniel wants an okay on the extra floor." I told him, pushing off to spin to Tony's desk, holding out the folders.

"I thought we agreed on three extra floors there." Tony muttered, glancing at the sketch of the tower.

"We did, he's just cautious about this level." I told him, pointing to the lowest of the three said levels at the top.

"Yeah, whatever you think." Tony waved it off. I rolled my eyes, picking up his pen and signing it. Just as You made a mess with the chlorophyll over in the small kitchen section. He'd not put a top on the blender.

"You!" I called out and the robotic arm 'looked' up. "I swear to God I'll dismantle you. I'll soak your motherboard. I'll turn you into a wine rack." I threatened, holding up my pen at him. He deflated but I rolled my eyes at his dramatics.

"How many ounces a day of this gobbledegook am I supposed to drink?" Tony asked, taking a drink from his own glass. He was in a delicious black t-shirt that was over a longer grey one. He'd claimed he was hot when he'd put it on but he had the sleeves pushed up. I was in his confiscated MIT sweatshirt and a pair of work out pants. I hadn't bothered to change out of them. Ever since Clint and Natasha had gone back to S.H.I.E.L.D. my workouts have been almost depressive compared to before. There were no more laughs and giggles, or even two people trying to trip me every moment.

"We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir." JARVIS responded.

"Better get to drinking." I muttered, going to grab my own glass, and then coming back. "Have you checked your palladium levels?" I asked, pressing my hand against my arc reactor with a wince. The purple had gone out of it since Stane's attack and it was blue again but it looked worse. Tony held up the toxicity checker before he put it on the table and pressed his thumb to it.

It only took a few seconds to take the blood and then to scan it for the programed chemicals, palladium. "Blood toxicity, 24%." JARVIS announced, so that I didn't have to lean over to know it. I sighed, pulling the checker over as Tony opened a small wipe to get the blood off with.

"It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition." JARVIS showed pictures of the spreading poison in Tony's chest. I twitched as the needle pricked me and my toxicity came up. "Blood toxicity, 26%." Ah, and there is a little picture of my condition, and the statistics for the arc reactors current state. "Another core has been depleted."

I reached for the box of palladium. It had two rows in it with cartridges of palladium blocks. Our newest arc reactor was able to inject them. I took one out, and held out my hand to Tony. He pulled his shirt up, taking the arc reactor out of his chest with a wince. As he did the reactor opened in his palm, displaying the burnt out core. It looked almost like rust had taken over the core of palladium. I picked it out and pressed the new one in.

"God, they're burning out quick." Tony muttered. I picked his shirt up, not missing the chance to skim my hands along his lower chest. Tony's muscles flexed and our eyes met. I licked my lips but pressed the reactor back in, smiling as it clicked into place.

"Uh-huh." I answered, lifting my own shirt more cautiously.

Tony hadn't seen my chest yet. Yes, yes, I know. Tony Stark not having sex? I thought so to but he hasn't tried. It was sort of a frustration and a relief. I wanted to, that wasn't the problem. But I didn't want to show him my scars. They looked like complete grooves carved out of my chest, not very attractive. With the women he was used to I would be so ugly to him. Maybe that was why he didn't try?

I took the reactor out, allowing Tony to replace the palladium for me and I giggle as he took it from me, and I lifted my shirt. He wouldn't have the chance to see my scars, as I was wearing a shirt under the MIT sweater. Tony pouted and replaced, but making sure to press his lips to mine while he was so close to me. He kept his hands under the shirt, tugging me closer to him, and farther off of my seat.

"I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement." JARVIS cut in. I pulled back from Tony, still as breathless as I was when he first kissed me. Unfortunately JARVIS was worried. Before, when he first realized we were now in a relationship he'd tried to edge us on, playing romantic music randomly and booking flights or rooms that kept us to ourselves. Tony sighed loudly. JARVIS had been doing_ this_ lately now, because he was genuinely worried about our health. If we died JARVIS wouldn't have anyone and that thought was sad. All of our robots would be left by themselves to rot away or be sold to the highest bidder.

Nonetheless I slide backwards in my seat, settling for grinning as Tony pulled his shirt up to look at the purple strips coming from his reactor. It wasn't funny but the view of his chest did make me rather happy.

"You are running out of both time and options." JARVIS solemnly ruined any happiness I was feeling. Just the thought of Tony dying killed me. I couldn't do anything about it either and that may be what was more harming to me then my own palladium. Maybe I'll get lucky and go first, so I don't have to see Tony die, or live without him. I've never been without him, not since I was really little. "Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you."

"Way to break the mood JARVIS. I was hoping to be happy today." I deadpanned, glancing at the pile of paperwork on Tony's desk. I turned the file open and started reading through it curiously, even as Tony picked his shirt back up and eyed the stranger purple markings that were climbing over his chest. They were on mine, and they looked sick, almost like worms with how they climbed over my skin. And when one of the purple strands hit my scar they looked like they were bulging out of my skin.

"Uh-uh." I said, as my eyes landed on what the report was about. "Please tell me you are kidding with this." I looked up at Tony who turned to look at me and then his eyes widened as he saw the papers. He got up from his chair and started walking around. "What are you thinking?" I demanded.

"I'm thinking you're angry about something and I'm suddenly needed over here." Tony muttered, and I got up to follow him, taking the forms with me.

"Did you donate the entire modern art collection to the…" I glanced down. "Boy Scouts of America?" I asked incredulous even as he worked with the holograms of the suits. He threw one at our target garbage can and I couldn't be made that he had scored points because I was mad already.

"Yes, it is a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes." Tony answered, trying to keep walking, pushing the floating transparent pieces of armor away from him.

"I can't believe this. That was going in the tower!" I groaned. "I spent over ten years building that up and they are completely against my views!"

"It was a tax write-off." Tony turned to me, smiling, probably in hopes that I would give in to his smile like I usually do. But _Ten _years of looking at crap and finding good art only to have it washed away to the stupid homophobic bastards.

"You know, of the millions of things I need to talk to you about, the tower still remains an issue." I told him, following him. "And we have to talk about…uh…preparations." I licked my lips and like I kind of suspected Tony wrinkled his nose and ignored the last bit.

"We are supposed to be vacationing, Anna. Learn to live in the moment." Tony pouted. "Besides, I thought you were leaving your shares to that Natasha chick." He turned to Dummy as we got to the construction part of the lab again. We currently had multiple things going on here, including an entire system of light refractors. "Hey, stop spacing out. The Bridgeport's already machining that part." Tony said to Dummy.

"Yes, but who are you going to leave it to? Tony you can't have just anyone running the company." I argued. "Natasha has business credentials and an ability to scare everyone in the vicinity into doing what she wants. She'll be perfect, if she has someone to help control the other half."

"See, I don't like to plan that far ahead." He made his 'Stop it with this subject' face. Ugh, if he knows how to make me love him, he knows how to annoy me into submission to.

"And another thing, did you set up the medical floor in the tower?" I asked, following again as he began walking, and then he spotted something, a fan present. "Where did that come from?" I almost choked on my own spit. It was a picture of me in _parts _of the Iron Woman suit. And by parts I mean a very sparse bottom, no top and the gloves and boots. My admittedly perfectly photoshopped person was currently in the perfect pin-up girl position. I was shocked.

"Uh, a fan sent it in." Tony said, and I turned from eyeing the arc reactor in the picture to his devilish smile. My scowl could have killed a lesser man. Tony took off in the lab again, not just avoiding me this time, as he had the picture in his hands. I took off after him.

"Tony don't you dare." I growled after him, almost tripping over a table in my hurry to get the picture from him. "You don't see me putting up pictures of you in your boxers, and I wouldn't have to have it photo shopped." I warned. My eyes widened when he went for a very priceless painting.

"Oh, come on." Tony laughed, climbing up on the kitchen counter. "It's just a picture, a joke if you want to see it that way."

"How is this funny?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips, the folder in my hands crushed against it. Time to eat again to, it's getting skinnier and skinnier, my hips are.

"Uh….No one comes down here but us anyways." Tony argued, getting down, having put the Barnett Newman on the kitchen counter and putting up the stupid porn thing up.

"I swear, the next time I get the chance I am incinerating that thing." I growled, even as he jumped down from the table and put his hands on mine where they were on my waist.

"Please, we are dying, try to enjoy a little bit of what's left." Tony seemed so serious, taking a step forward and locking my lips with his. I almost dropped the folder, instead wrapping my arms around his neck and fisting a hand in his hair. God, his kisses could make me jump off a cliff if he wanted me to.

He was the first to pull away, looking to the side. I followed his gaze and found champagne there in You's hands, champagne and not chlorophyll.

"What is this for?" I asked, forgetting about the picture for a moment as Tony released me to go open the champagne.

"You mean you don't know?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and adopting his usual kicked puppy look. I tried hard to remember if it was his birthday, or anything but for the life of me I couldn't remember.

"It's Valentine's day." My eyes bugged and my mouth dropped open.

"What?" My voice became almost high pitched, like a man kicked in the nuts. "Oh, I didn't get you anything. Oh my God, JARVIS –"

"Don't worry about that." Tony chuckled. "My present is Monaco, and champagne. You can be my present." Tony laughed, pouring the champagne while I panicked. I was never good at remembering these kinds of things. I didn't even realize until a month later that our first month of dating had passed.

"I am so sorry. And I was just yelling at you," I narrowed my eyes. "This doesn't get you out of trouble for the picture." I warned, taking the champagne and letting him sit me down on the chair. He sat on the chair's arm with his own champagne glass.

"I think it does. I am, after all paying for Monaco, and this champagne was expensive." Tony joked. I scouted over, tugging him down into the seat with me.

"All right, all right." I laughed. "You can keep it for a while." I clicked our champagne together but he took this moment to scratch his facial hair against my cheek. I giggled at the scratchy feeling. "I'm really sorry; you know I'm not good at remembering these things." I kissed his cheek when he was retreating ending in almost kissing his eyes, so my chapped lips landed on the upper part of his nose and his eye.

"I should have known. I'll be expecting a more loose Anna in return." Tony teased me, tugging on one of my locks. "Honestly, I thought you were just waiting until I said something." Tony laughed, taking a drink of his champagne, but like always he did it funny. I licked my lips before taking a long drink from my glass of champagne.

"I don't know if I can do loose Anna." I confessed, setting my legs across his. "It's been a long time…" I played with Tony's shirt and bit my lip. I knew one thing I could give him. I looked up from under my eyelashes to see his amusement.

"Nah, you have trouble with it, but I'll help you." Tony told me, scrapping his nails against the nape of my neck as he dragged his hand away from my hair. A comfortable, teasing sprinkle of pleasure went down my spine.

To be truthful there was a reason I was avoiding it. But Tony wouldn't take the first leap; I knew it just looking at him. The sparkle in Tony's eyes, and the way he has never pushed me when I break our kisses, or when I show even a sign of uncomfortable feelings. He would never be like Justin.

_Justin _didn't have a reputation for sex, but Tony did. I found it ironic that I felt more at home and loved, and even lusted for when I was with Tony. Even if he was to tell me he didn't love me the next day it wouldn't be like with Justin, it would be a good memory because it was Tony.

"Ma'am, Sir, Happy has arrived for your lesson." JARVIS announced. I hadn't realized until he'd said something that Tony and I were staring at each other. I'd completely blanked out so I didn't understand if he asked me a question or if I was just being uncomfortable. My cheeks lit up and I practically jumped up.

"Oh, right. Um, yeah." I smoothed my hair back. "It's your workout, so go get changed, or whatever you do." I rushed towards the door, without looking back. I heard the frustrated sound from Tony but didn't stop to analyze it as I walked up the stairs. When I reached the top I frowned. "JARVIS…" I hesitated. "I want you to go buy me the best lingerie you can find, and match it to what you believe would um…excite Tony the most." I hissed the last part in embarrassment. JARVIS didn't answer for a moment.

"Are you sure, Ma'am?" JARVIS questioned a tremble of worry in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah I think I am." I stated, dropping on to the white couch and huffing. "Why?"

"I believe that sir would not wish to have…intercourse with you should you feel pressured." JARVIS cautiously answered, almost backing up halfway through the sentence where he stuttered. It hit me.

"So _that's _why he's been waiting." I groaned, placing my hands over my face. JARVIS didn't answer, seeming to realize he'd given something away about Tony. When he did speak again it was to softly tell me that 'Mr. Stark' had moved to the workout room where he was practicing with Happy. And then after a moment's pause I heard the click of high heels. I looked up, uncovering my face to see, of all people, Natasha there.

"Oh." I said, blankly. "Natasha?"

"Natalie now." She told me, laughing. "I'm on assignment. I've been sent by Director Fury to monitor and evaluate your usefulness as an owner." I stood up and hurried over to greet her with a hug. Yeah, she could still be pretty uptight but we were close, after the millions of times she'd knocked me on my ass I think that's going to have to be true.

"And is this a secret?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows. "I'm not good with secrets, and I've already forgotten its Valentine's day this morning." I complained my face dropping at the memory. Natasha only blinked.

"Not a secret. I'm formally also here to take up the job offer on being your personal assistant. You just aren't supposed to know I'm evaluating you." She responded, straight faced.

"Yay, just what I need right now." I also deadpanned. "I'll take you to meet Tony; you can get him to sign something." She handed out a folder already in her hands. She was wearing a cute black pencil skirt and white blouse.

"I've already got something, a sign off that the court date is over." Natasha told me.

"Okay," I started leading her through the halls. Natasha and Clint never actually left my house, or if they did they didn't bother to tell me, or to come over here. Suddenly I stopped, right outside the hallway that lead to an open view of the workout room. "If you come on to him, I will not hesitate to ruin you. You may be able to still kill me, but I can ruin you via S.H.I.E.L.D. and/or with financial or governmental ways." I walked away. Maybe I'm good enough to actually intimidate her. I turned back around.

"Strike that, just don't kill me, and as my friend don't do that." I said instead, walking back out and into the workout room. The place was pretty large, and kind of different then the one that I had at my house. This one had a lot of weights and a pen for boxing, something I had nothing of. Tony and Happy were in the pen, and Tony was hitting the padded palms of Happy. I heard the light laugh that left Natasha's lips at that. "Don't laugh, he's just playing around mostly." I told her half-heartedly.

"Anna, hey! Jump in if you want." Tony said, having spotted me, and then the person behind me. "Who's this?"

"I'm Natalie, Natalie Rushmore." She answered, probably so I wouldn't have to lie.

"She's going to be my new P.A., and as so I thought you might want to meet her." I told him, walking to a chair that was sitting off to the side next to a table. I don't know why it was, but barely anything Tony does makes sense. As I sat I rubbed at my arc reactor, wincing at the sting I got from it.

"I'm on Happy time." He answered. "We're going to Monaco soon, can't I meet her then?" The whine he let out was pitiful, even as he struck Happy's palm hard enough to make Happy take a step back.

"It'll take a second. She's got to have you sign something anyways." I told him, taking my hand away and instead opening an internet window on the table. I looked up Victoria secret and started looking through the lingerie. The things they had on there almost scared me. JARVIS realized what I was doing and he highlighted some things. Some of them were a little intimidating but others seemed innocent enough.

"Sorry." I heard Tony say and I looked up to see Happy looking at Tony who was looking back innocently.

"What the hell was that?" Happy asked, and Natasha stood off to my side.

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for three weeks." He nodded off to the side. He didn't even know when it started. I giggled and Natasha raised her eyebrows as she saw what I had opened.

"Valentine's gift ideas." I muttered to her, grinning sheepishly. To my surprise her eyebrows scrunched together, and if I was a lesbian I would have been enamored. Luckily for me, because Natasha was in love with Clint (I know it, even if she won't admit it), I was not and so I had to wonder what the problem was. I watched her eyes flicker to eye Tony and then me. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Natasha answered after another moment.

"-new about it." Happy raged at Tony. I snickered, rolling my eyes and then the page. None of them looked like something I would wear, but granted I wouldn't wear it in the first place.

"Is it your first time together?" Natasha asked me, quietly. My cheeks flushed and she didn't wait for an answer. "You should wear white then, something that flows." She looked away from me and to Tony and Happy. I laughed as Tony hit Happy in his padding around his stomach. Poor Happy really looked ridiculous in that thing. Tony got distracted at my laughter and turned to look at me. I didn't hear what Happy said but Tony turned around and kicked him into the pole. Natasha looked more assessing.

"I told you." I sung to her. "Come on Tony, just come sign this and then we can be off to Monaco." I eyed him. "After you shower."

Tony winked at me, motioning Natasha over, or Natalie for now. I turned to her and very loudly said. "Take it easy on him, will you? He's recovering." Natasha actually looked confused.

"From what?"

"Multiple Women Syndrome." I said, keeping my face straight. An almost duck like sound came out of Tony's mouth in protest while Happy laughed and Natasha kept her straight face, with that little hint of amusement she let me see. I smirked and wiggled my eyebrows at Tony. "Don't worry baby, I got you." I joked, looking absentmindedly down at the list again. JARVIS had taken Natasha's comments into account and I was now looking at white lingerie.

You, the innocent little robot, pulled up with a bottle of chlorophyll, probably a reminder from my 'bot family that I had to drink it. I took it with a quiet thank you. I didn't watch the interaction with Natasha and Tony. But I did when he started heading my way. "Exit." I muttered to JARVIS who automatically deleted the tab I had opened.

"Anna." Tony greeted, leaning down and kissing me before plopping into the seat on the side with the table. I laughed as after a moment he copied my legs, which had crossed in concentration.

"What is it Tony?" I answered, folding my hands, as if I hadn't just been on the internet, even though it was clear I had been.

"Who is she, really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'd lie but I did forget it was Valentine's today…" I pursed my lips, eyeing Natasha and Happy. "It's within my best interests to just go ahead and say I know who she is and that she isn't called Natalia. I'm not going to say anything else." I finally decided, nodding my head.

"That's cruel. What kind of present is that?" Tony asked, putting one arm behind my back on the sofa that really wasn't meant for two people.

"A generous one. I could have lied and said I didn't know her, couldn't I have?" I answered, taking a long chug from the chlorophyll in my glass. "Ugh, we need to make this stuff taste better." I wiped my mouth with my wrist. I really should change my clothes before we leave.

"Come on, you know her how?" Tony tried to whittle but I stayed silent. He tried a different tactic. "How do I spell your name, Natalie?" Tony called out to Natasha who actually looked uncomfortable with whatever Happy had spoken to her about. I chuckled at the mere idea of her being uncomfortable with poor Happy. He just didn't know how to act around pretty women.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N." She answered, turning around to answer. She had slipped her shoes off when she got in the rink and for the life of me I didn't know why she was even in the rink.

"Are you googling her?" I asked, watching over his shoulder. He flipped through the given information, finding what was there. I had to hold back the snort as there was actually something there. "Why can't you accept that she's my assistant?" I whined, resting my head on his shoulder as he looked through them, and then pulled the pictures of her up. "Ugh, predictable." And with that my head was moved. He hastily looked away to me.

"Oh, come on it was a picture that pulled up. She modeled in Tokyo it says. She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin…" He scrunched his eyebrows as he realized what he said.

"I thought Latin was a dead language?" Tony asked himself, looking back. I laughed, and then stopped, trying to fake being mad at him. Okay, so I was still a little reluctant to really trust him around other women but in my _defense _he has enjoyed multiple women in the past, all bustier or skinnier or prettier than me. And here I am all skinned up and ugly. And small.

I heard a slam and my head twisted to see Happy on the ground with Natasha wrapped around him, having brought him down. I jumped up and rushed over. "Jesus!" I screamed, spinning under the rope in my own show of skill. "He's only a bodyguard, not a criminal." I told her as she got off of him. She looked rather surprised herself. I'd taken her by surprise once to, it had almost ended like this but I'd had some skill by then so I'd lasted longer than Happy, barely.

"I just slipped." Happy said as I helped him up, but his red face and stiff movements said different. Tony being a jerk dinged the bell. I groaned and released Happy to turn in exasperation to Tony.

"Looks like a TKO to me." Tony remarked. Natasha climbed out of the rink, nodding to me. I nodded back, turning to Happy.

"You okay?" I asked him. "She's a bit skilled in self defense. I thought it was for the best." I lied, acting as if I'd really been the one to choose her.

"Yeah, she just took me off guard. I thought she was just some girl scout." Happy told me. I picked up a regular water bottle and handed it to him, nearly wincing for him.

"Let me guess, you expressed that opinion?" When he nodded I laughed in sympathy. "She's a feminist, and takes her exercise seriously. Please note not to do that again." I patted him on the shoulder as he stopped drinking and nodded at me in agreement. My body turned to eye Natasha and Tony. They were far enough from each other, and Natasha was holding out the folder and pointing. My insides were still in a knot.

"He loves you, you know." Happy wheezed and I turned to him, smiling politely.

"He's only ever said it once, and to be honest I can't…" I licked my lips. "I didn't believe him that much. I figure I'm about two females away from being his next notch post. Hopefully an important enough notch post to keep around after wards." I admitted. It was as if as soon as Happy said something my fears came right out of my mouth.

"He tells everyone when you aren't looking. The sheer possession he feels is amazing." Happy said, wiping his forehead. I absentmindedly grabbed the towel and handed it to him as I listened; discreetly watching Tony and Natasha, fearing what I see is the inevitable. "He's been very secretive about it, because he's afraid of getting you hurt. Mr. Stark – Tony knows he's got a lot to own up to." I turned to eye him for a second.

"Nah, Tony just is so perfect and I…" I gestured to my small self and abnormalities. I pressed a hand to my arc reactor. "I'm kind of nothing compared to him."

"Bullshit." Happy called and I raised my eyebrows. "Tony is in love with you, he just won't do anything about it because he's too scared you'll run away screaming. I don't know what happened between you two but the moment I stepped into the gym he's been punching me like mad, and not the kind that has to deal with regular man pride." I looked to Happy now.

"I - just- I can't understand it." I rubbed my head. "It doesn't make that much sense to me, for him to suddenly love me-"

"Sudden? Tony's been in love with you for years, he just didn't want to acknowledge it." Happy snorted, and I realized he wasn't wheezing any more. A large puffy sigh left me.

"Let's agree to disagree." I sarcastically said.

"On what?" Tony sidled up to me, and Natasha walked behind him.

"He thinks popcorn's better then pizza. I think he has a concussion." I lied, wincing at the obvious lie. "Ugh, fuck it. I'm going to change, Natalie I believe I have clothes in your size if you need them?" Talk about sensory overload.

For Tony to love me? Even six months after he told me so I couldn't believe what Happy said. It had been blissful and Tony was so loving and romantic but to think that I was more than a passing fling….I just couldn't wrap my head around it. He was my Tony, and he wasn't. I couldn't make them see even. Why would anyone want me, so scared and broken and generally screwed up? Much less Tony Stark?

I stepped out of the workout center, head held high and Natasha following me. Silently I walked through the halls, heading to my, or Tony and I's room and straight to the walk in closet. A side of the closet had been cleared out and my stuff mysteriously appeared, or some of it. I did own a lot of clothes after all.

"Here you go, chose what you want. I'm already packed." I told Natasha, letting her roam free in it. While she was doing so, knowing I guess that I needed some time I sat on our shared bed, sighing. I would get me some clothes soon; I just needed a moment to figure this out.

Happy knew Tony very well, after all he followed Tony and I around all the time, and it's possible that Tony could have _told _him this stuff, but it could be that he was only inferring it. How could I be really sure?

I had to trust Tony. Tony said he loved me, and I loved him. He knew that and he had been backing off, and not trying anything unless I started it so I think Happy could be right about this. I hope to God he is, because if Tony doesn't love me I don't know if I can take it, as much as I want to say I would. I sound like some love sick teenager mooning after their first crush.

I bit my lip, clapping two times. When I did the hologram came up of the Victoria Secret, with minor adjustments to the choices. I flicked through them, biting my lip and waiting absent-mindedly on Natasha. I was positive that I wasn't going to rethink it. This was it, I was going to trust Tony and give him everything I had because he deserves that much from me.

Now when was I going to give him his present?

**Ta-da? Hope you loved the chapter. I know some of my phrasing can be kind of hard to understand. Even I had trouble, when I went back over it, reading it. I don't know if the last chapter was like that, I hope not. **

**Anyways, I'm almost done writing my ThorOC which is a miracle with the amount of writer's block I have right now. I'm hoping to get it done tonight, while I'm still in the mood but I doubt it. Who knows, I also thought I couldn't finish my Hunger Games fic within a weekend worth of writing. Many of you probably weren't there to read it, but I uploaded the last few chapters one after another because I was speed writing with so much inspiration.**

**Also, in case you aren't reading my ThorOC, which again is up and readable, then you should know I'm thinking about writing a Captain America story, but I'm not actually sure about it yet. There won't be a hulk one, that's for sure. I don't see him that way, and plus there isn't a movie yet with Mark Ruffalo playing the Hulk. This saddens me.**

**If you want, and this is just a general thing because I want people to get to know me, and all of my strangeness, I have a tumblr. If you want it, you can ask for my username, but I warn you that you may not like what you find there!**


	4. Please, promise me you'll try

"The Grand Prix?" I questioned. Happy was in the front of a rental Mercedes, and Tony and I were in the back. The first place we were to appear at in Monaco was apparently a race. I didn't understand but I did know that Tony owned a car in the race. Plus, it was still technically Valentine's Day, just the evening. I'd tried my best to be less bossy on the plane over, and I didn't remark that I hated racing when he announced it. I just settled with making sure that my present was currently waiting at our hotel room with a bunch of chocolates and roses, just to be cheesy about it.

"Yeah, fun, huh?" Tony asked, grinning as he rubbed his head absentmindedly.

"Is your headache back?" I quizzed, reaching up to try and help him rub it away. Tony gave a tired smile, letting his own hand fall to his side. His eyes fluttered close as I brushed my finger against his temples, and my thumbs on his forehead.

"Yeah, I packed some chlorophyll for us to drink, but I'd prefer not in public." Tony told me. He really did seem tired. Maybe I should wait until he's less exhausted but with the way we were going it was only going to get worse. I'd like to experience it before we die.

"I think I can agree." I bent down and pecked his lips, smiling when I heard the screams outside the window. "Looks like we're here." I sang, sneaking one of my hands down his arm, and holding onto his hand. "Are you ready?"

"As always." Tony puffed up his chest. The moment we stepped out screams of our name went up. I smiled and waved, while Tony held out a peace sign, his new thing. Natasha was supposed to be in the building already, as we'd stopped to get gas, but that was alright. I was wearing a brown and turquoise checkered dress, that looked amazing on my figure if I do say so myself. It was a little flamboyant for the Prix but I figured it would be all right, seeing as I was dying soon anyways.

"You know, it's Europe so if anything happens in the next 20 minutes, just go with it." Tony told me, wrapping his arm around my waist as we walked into the building, being told where to go by handy people at the doors and things. They really don't get enough credit for what they do.

"What?" I questioned, starting to furrow my eyebrows in suspicion but Natasha came up. She was wearing one of my red dresses and her bra was showing a bit. I grimaced and suddenly felt horrible. I bet I didn't look that good in my dress.

"Is that your dress?" Tony muttered, smiling anyways as Natasha appeared. I smiled as well, though I think mine might have been noticeably more unhappy.

"Ms. Vinci. How was your flight?" She asked me, and I had to hold back the want to smack at her. I'd lose if I did, and it would cause a scene. Why did she have to be so pretty and me so…

"Perfect, and yours?"

"It was excellent. I love your hair, and that dress." Natasha flattered. She probably knew what I was feeling, because it was in her files that one of her main attributes was the beauty. It was her weapon when she was undercover. She was good at being undercover.

"You look pretty good in my dress, better than me." I laughed, shaking her hand finally, just as a picture went off.

"Hardly." Tony declared.

"We have one photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind. Okay?" Natasha asked, for the photographer. He smiled sheepishly and I laughed. "He would like a picture of you and Mr. Stark for the paper here."

"We'd love to." Tony said, tugging me away from Natasha and into the middle of the doorway, pressed completely against him. I smiled for the camera, even as I shuffled a little to regain my balance. It didn't take him long to snap the picture. When he did I lightly patted Tony's very filled out chest.

"Why don't you go get us a table? I'm going to speak with my assistant." I told him, not waiting for an answer, instead walking away with the waiting Natasha. I'm sure Tony could handle himself for a few minutes alone, surely. "What are you wearing?" I quizzed.

"Your dress. I'm under orders here, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself." She teased. I couldn't stop the snort that came out of me. "You have a 9:30 dinner."

"Oh, you are going to be my assistant then?" I asked her, laughing. It was almost a joke to put Natasha in such a part as this. She was such a top spy, able to kill thirty men in one go and here she is pushing papers for a little girl in a suit of armor.

"Of course." She stopped when Tony came up, pouting still. I guess he didn't like being all by himself. I wouldn't either. If we take one step towards calm people jump up. Lately everyone wants a part in the Expo. They would come up to us at such odd times to grab a quick place.

"Is this us? Make it us." He ordered Natasha. She blinked before turning to find a waiter. I was pulled to Tony's side to look at the table. "Romantic?" He asked, looking down at me but gesturing to the table setting. My blissful smile, that oddly enough, seemed to follow me everywhere sweetened a little. He was such a romantic himself. I don't think he even realized it sometimes.

"Very." I agreed. "Aren't there to many chairs?"

"For Happy and Natasha. He has a crush." Tony nodded his head in an almost mock solemn attitude. I giggled and followed Tony to the bar, where he seemed to be heading. When we sat down I sighed. The seats were terribly uncomfortable and just like any other part in this place, crowded.

"Don't be mad. Do you not like her?" I questioned and he met my eyes

"No, I don't. She has a secret, and you're in on it." He warned me. "I'll figure it out; don't worry about it in the mean time." I went to protest but suddenly someone else was there and my mouth snapped shut and my eyes widened.

"Anna, is that you?" Justin Hammer's voice came out. I tensed and panicked for a second before practically gluing myself to Tony's side and smiling as polite as I could. Tensing was about all my genetic make-up was worried about right now.

If I'm lucky, I thought wildly, as long as I kept near Tony he wouldn't hurt me, at least for now. I licked my trembling lips. My arms must have been in a death hold on Tony's waist but he didn't argue, putting his arm automatically around my shoulders.

"Justin, how nice to see you again." I bit out. "How have you been?" Tony's eyes narrowed and his grip on my shoulders tightened, maybe in reaction to my own nervousness. And I was nervous. I'd done a great job in avoiding Justin and I thought after the court incident I wouldn't be seeing him again. Hopefully for another couple of years I wouldn't even hear about him. But did I ever really get my way?

"Great. Anthony is that you?" Justin acted as if he hadn't seen Tony and I not even a centimeter apart from each other, actually I doubt a drop of water could split me from Tony's side. As if he hadn't seen the news that was singing our praises. As if he didn't see all of the magazine covers with our faces on them. Believe me, I saw them and I've been going out of my way not to see them.

"My least favorite person on earth. Justin Hammer." He said the last part, Justin's name aloud but the last part was mumbled to me. My polite society smile twitched a little at the edges.

"How you doing?" Justin asked, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder. I almost broke it with previously learned skills, ironically from Natasha who didn't seem to be in the vicinity to stop me right about now. "You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car. You know, Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair." My nervousness became hatred the moment the blonde girl moved into view. She'd been trying to get an interview ever since the announcement, against my telling her we'd never give her one.

"You guys know each other?" Justin questioned. By his tone I almost believed he knew that Everhart and Tony _knew _each other. After all, it was too much of a coincidence that two people I hated both happen to be here together. It surprised me that Everhart would fall as low as Justin Hammer, but reporters will do anything for the right price.

"Yes, roughly." Tony said a little tense. I don't know if it's because of the re-showing up of Everhart or Justin Hammer. For me it was Justin Hammer, but she wasn't exactly high on my list either come to think of it.

"We do." I nodded; a tense and probably halfway constipated look came over my face. I was not happy to see her and three out of four knew it. If I had my way I'd be sipping straight vodka and playing strip poker with Natasha right now. Of course Clint would be trying to sneak a peek and I'd shut him out with JARVIS.

"Yes." Christine nodded as well. She had a cute enough blue dress on but her hair was of course dyed blonde and curly, pretty but to pretty.

"BTW, big story. The couple to single handedly rip down the Senator." Justin said, smiling and pointing at us. Okay, he has to be clueless as to who Christine Everhart is. I snorted and squeezed Tony's waist. As if I wasn't already probably bruising him. I neglected, out of want not to speak, to mention that we also managed to tear him down.

"I know, my editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our Powerful Women issue." She said, holding up her hands with her wallet in them as a begging sort of motion. So she wants an interview with me now? I'd looked up all previous interactions with her, through JARVIS and I was not impressed. She'd been just like every other report was with Tony then and probably now. If she slept with him, she figured that was a bonus to an interview.

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair. Maybe we can do the interview together?" Justin asked Christine who looked to be nearly exploding at the thought.

"Well, she did quite a spread on Tony last year." I started but the little vindictive side of me got out. "And she did a story. It was very impressive. Very well done." The look on Christine's face was hilarious, as if caught with her hand in the cookie jar. I smiled, almost predatorily, but I didn't miss the rumble of silent laughter in Tony's chest that I could feel, just where my side was pressed against his chest. Justin looked uncomfortably back to Christine.

"I'm going to go over here." Tony muttered, and I swiveled to watch him with wide eyes.

"Don't you dare." I hissed, even as he left me. I was not going to let him go for this, even if I got a good view of his sauntering back side.

"It's good to see you again, Anna. Christine, why don't you go grab our table and we'll come over to you?" Justin turned to Christine who nodded, moving back to her table. I wonder if she's faced _it_ yet. Probably not. Justin was in a cream colored suit, and on anyone else it might have looked great, it was very expensive looking. On him it just made me think of all the T.V. shows that I've seen where Lucifer was dressed in white.

"I'm all right, Justin. And you?" I said politely, and I was trying very hard not to panic. I couldn't decide if I wanted to strangle Tony or throw him under a bus for this. If he was the one with the headache earlier, I was now the one with it. Not to mention it was burning up in here. I must have moved on to the next stage of palladium poisoning. That or I really was still affected by Justin Hammer, and not in the way of sexual attachment.

"So how have you been, since we broke up? Good? I see you've finally moved on." Justin moved closer, so our conversation was quiet. I moved back, inching farther away. I didn't want to be in his personal space, or have him in mine. I'd had enough of that to last ten lifetimes.

"I'm wonderful, and so is Tony. He's a real sweetheart, doesn't _touch _me if I don't want him to or anything _horrible _like that." I growled back at him. My eyes, still a light green after the cave must have been unnerving but Justin didn't flinch. Instead he smiled the creepy smile, as I liked to call it. A smile where he was showing all of his teeth and stretching his eyes out. Creepy and scary, and really good at making people see that side of him that made me afraid to do anything about him.

"That's a shame, seeing as you deserve it. I quite remember you two being at it when we were together." Justin grinned at my flinch. It only enraged me. He didn't have the right.

"We were never together when you and I-"

"Oh that's right because you weren't _good _enough for him. You weren't even good enough for your parents." Justin stressed, and it was just like when we were dating. He hit all of my bad spots and made me feel like shit within two seconds of being within his presence. I licked my lips, trying to remember that I was good enough, I was plenty good enough.

Hell, I'm Iron Woman.

"I'm much better then you and Tony seems to _enjoy _me." I stressed, even though I was lying. I stepped forward, not even thinking as my knee connected solidly with his groin. He buckled, causing a few people to look in surprise but he grabbed the bar and straightened, as if he wasn't in immense pain. "I'm surprised I could hit something so _small_." I dug one more time before turning around, and striding back to the table, my head held high. I turned back before I got out of hearing distance. "Oh, congrats on the revoking of your contract." And then I walked off.

It was satisfying to finally get one up on Justin Hammer, and if anything could make this day better, I'd like to see it try.

As I sat down in my chair, the one with the best view I suddenly felt that I no longer owed Tony for Valentine's day. I did not want that interaction to happen, even though it went splendid. I may have one up-ed him, but just seeing him sent me into a panic, and then this anger if I was lucky. I'd been avoiding it and I was doing so with the skill of Clint Barton, who can avoid being seen like my keys.

"Anna?" I turned to see Natasha there, eyeing me in speculation. Well, fuck her. She left me standing there with him to. I'm sure that it was in my files that we'd had a past relationship.

"Yeah? Am I supposed to be doing something?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, mockingly. "Because right about now I'm going to be pulling a Tony and saying no." Pulling the napkin from its stupid shape I started fiddling with it, needing something to do with my hands. What Justin had said had really hit me hard. It was just like him to hit me where it hurt. He still knew where to push my buttons, and what they were. It stung to think I was still the same after so long, and that the same things could get to me. I was just as insecure as I was when I gave in to Justin's violence. I didn't deserve to be who I am.

"No, but you might want to look at the T.V." She said, pointing at the screen. I turned around to look at it and my entire mind must have blinked. Tony was on it.

In a racing suit.

The only thought that fluttered through my mind was that his glasses and that suit made warmth gather in my cheeks and my stomach.

"Oh, shit." I muttered, putting my head in my hands and exhaling. He was in a racing suit because he was _racing_. "He is going to get himself killed." My hands fell away and I snapped my fingers. I didn't care that my doing so seemed like a spoiled, rich chick. All I wanted right now as to get so drunk that I couldn't get angry at him.

"Mr. Stark should be fine." Natasha said. I liked my lips, glancing at the screen again.

"No he isn't. He has no training in driving a race car. He only designed it, it's different. Oh, I really can't handle this right now." I rubbed my reactor, hidden behind my dress. "Where's Happy? I want to go to the hotel." I took the glass of rum that I'd ordered in between my freak out.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do it if he thought he was going to die." Natasha argued.

"Natasha, Tony would do it if he thought it was going to kill him. He's reckless, and he's always been. He doesn't care that I can't live without him. He didn't even care when we were-" I stopped taking a breath.

"**Tony?" I whispered, trying to crawl around. My voice came out sluggish. I managed to turn enough to see him lying there a few feet away, having been hit as well. My head was pounding and liquid was starting to coat my forehead and I couldn't see anything but blurs. I could see him in pain though, as much as I was. My inability to concentrate was making it hard to tell. "Tony!" I tried to yell but the pain just got worse and worse until suddenly black started taking over my vision and the pain took over every sense before I blacked out and felt nothing.**

A swig of rum to chase the memory away.

"…Get Happy, I need Happy." I told Natasha. She stood up and started to go. "Tell him to bring the cases!" I called out as she rushed off. I could feel it in my bones that they'd be needed. Turning to watch the screen I licked my lips and took a long slug from my rum glass. As Tony checked the cars system I began to think that I should have had them leave the bottle. Watching him drive this car, in a race, was going to kill me faster than the palladium would.

I watched the take-off, now holding on tightly to the napkin. I may not have enjoyed races, but that doesn't mean that I don't know about the dangers of it. The sharp turns, the speed, and the skill needed for this. It all scared me. Why was he doing this? To watch him just live through the rest of his days so recklessly…I couldn't ever do it. I care too much about other people.

Watching him drive around the dangerous track was killing me and I looked around almost constantly for Happy to pass by. I needed the case to make me feel better. I didn't miss the cars going by the windows of the restaurant, but I focused more on the screen when there were gasps.

A man was going onto the race track. He flipped his helmet off and suddenly his clothes started burning off. I jumped up as I realized what couldn't be over his chest. In the next second something in his hands lit up. They were _whips_. This cannot be happening.

The first car came and he slashed straight through the front. I shouted with everyone else, turning around, unable to just sit and watch. There Happy was, in the door way with both cases. "Open the balcony!" I order shouted at the waiter next to me. Everyone was looking to me and I realized they wanted to see me turn into Iron Woman. I didn't have enough patience to give them a show. Just waiting for Happy to get across the room was too much. I latched onto the case, which he fumbled to release where it had been attached to his wrist.

"Get the other case to Tony, anyway you can." I commanded.

As soon as he was released from it I ran to the balcony, which had been hastily opened. Just a press of my finger to the DNA scanner and the case started opening. I dropped it to the ground, placing my hands in the grips, and letting it wrap around my feet in boots. I heard the gasps, and the claps as the suit worked around me but I ignored them. As soon as JARVIS was online I kicked the thrusters on and flew off.

"JARVIS, pin point the guy's location on the track, and Tony's." I ordered, flying up. The suit didn't have any weapons in it, but it was flyable and the strength was high. It should be enough to get to whoever this person was. JARVIS pulled them up along with a display of where I was on the track. I cursed something awful when he, a few seconds later, pulled up the live feed of what was happening.

The amount of power I put in my thrusters couldn't have gotten me there faster if I was in my Lamborghini. Tony was currently on the gravel, bleeding from his head, and the man with the whips was hitting at him, making Tony split his legs. More wrecked cars, including Tony's had been added to the mix. People were running around trying to get away, even as I appeared on the scene, Tony was shot down, with a whip to his feet. I just landed when the man started spinning his whips, and Tony moved out of the way just in time for the gas in front of him to catch fire, and his arm.

I didn't have time to worry about his arms, as I sent a blast at the man, sending him into the fence and then to the ground. Tony turned to look at me with relief, which he shouldn't have. I had to kick the thrusters into gear to stop the whip the guy, who was amazingly still conscious, sent his way.

To my surprise I actually felt the whip even with my suit on. It didn't take me long for my mind to guess why. The whips were energy, just like the kind the factories arc reactor had produced, and the one in my chest produces. That means that the thing strapped over his chest was indeed a reactor, and the energy could cut through my suit. I turned to confront him and his whip but I was stopped by Happy's car hitting into him, pushing him back into the fencing. I winced for the guy.

"Happy!" I called, letting Tony run to the car, probably to try and get in and get his own suit. "Are you okay?" I walked forward. Happy had been slammed against the steering wheel, and the air bag had already deflated. I sighed in relief when I realized he was still awake.

"I'm okay." Happy answered, wiping sweat off his brow.

"Good, now mind telling me, where you aiming for him or me? Because I'm a little confused." I stressed, pointing my armored arm to my sweat covered and most probably stressed face, flipping the faceplate up to do so.

"I was trying to scare him." He said.

"This is ridiculous, can't go anywhere." I heard Tony's mutter. My fury was practically burning a whole from the reactor outwards. Just hearing Tony's voice sent a spike through my anger and ignited it.

"Get in the car; I don't want to hear another word from you, Stark." I growled out. Tony didn't argue even if he wanted to, instead opening the door and trying to get in. I didn't finish what I was starting, a rant, because a piece of whip came past me and hit the door, cutting it in half.

"Shit!" I shouted, turning around to get a whip almost cut my face open. I nodded the faceplate down, even as he cut himself out of the car. I used my boot to hastily kick the car, and Happy out of the way. Tony followed after, running to try and get to his case that Happy had thrown out the car door. "Come on at me!" I distracted the man, who was actually aiming again at Tony instead of me. I raised my arm, about to shoot a thruster at him. He hit it with a surprise whip and it went down.

"Power to core Gallagher, not too much." I grunted to JARVIS, I heard it charge while I dodged another whip, to blast at him. It missed, as he moved out of the way, sending another whip. Thankfully, because the suit was recovering from the force, the whip was blocked. Tony had his suit on. I watched as he gripped the whip, tying it around himself so they were unusable. I took that time to kick the thrusters on and plow into the man, snapping the whips loose from both his grip, and by the tearing noises, from his reactor.

The force of my hitting him knocked him several feet away, and the mystery man skidded against the pavement. This time he didn't get back up. I walked forward to him, stumbling a little as one of my boots had probably been hit by one of the whips; I reached forward grabbing the reactor in his chest.

"JARVIS, scan it for me buddy." I whispered. Indeed, it was an arc reactor. Tony came up beside me. I didn't look at him, seething as I was. I just watched the message JARVIS was flashing on my screen. He showed me the less developed arc reactor, complete with a palladium ring in it and everything.

"Are you all right?" Tony had the guts to ask me. I responded by pushing the reactor into his chest plate with a little more pressure then was probably necessary.

"Don't speak to me." I turned, kicking off.

**That's right, little self-depreciating Anna Vinci is angry at Tony. This is the first time, if I remember correctly, that I've actually done this. Most of the time their relationships run pretty smoothly, or either the OC doesn't actually speak or argue with them about their anger. I don't know, I think I've done that before it's just something feels different about it. **

**Oh well. **

**I did finish my ThorOC like I thought I would but now I'm conflicted. If I write her into the Avengers then it will take more of the focus off of Anna, and I really wrote Anna into Iron man for the Avengers. Granted I always planned to put Anna in Iron man since I saw the movie, but still. And I'm not really sure what to do with the ThorOC now.**

**And besides that, if I'm going to do a Captain America one then I need to do it before I can get the Avengers out. I don't even know what to do with my self any more. And on top of all of this, I think I've developed carpal tunnel in my left wrist because the tendons hurt like a bitch.**

**I'm going on vacation, and it's going to be a long one. I'm not quite sure that I will be able to write, or even post in that time. It all depends on my decisions from here on out, that I'll make soon if not today, and if the place I'm going has wifi.**

**I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Then you'll find

"-ran his prints. We got nothing back, not even a name, Ms. Vinci." Coulson told me. I licked my lips. I was currently in the observation room, watching the man sit there. They'd striped him and found nothing but what were obviously prison tattoos all over his body. He had grey and black hair. I couldn't tell if it was naturally like that or it was just simply dyed in a custom of his. "We aren't even sure he speaks English. But this is all just on a right now basis."

He was either a very good villain, or had gotten lucky. S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't even find anything on him, which is saying something. Coulson had flown over on my request to handle the situation, even though he had just been somewhere in Africa, if the reports were to be believed.

I sighed loudly. "Great. What I want to know is why he attacked in the first place?"

"All we've gathered is that he seemed to want Mr. Stark, and not anyone else, including you." Coulson said, handing over the tablet he had with the information on it. "We're working on a background but the interrogator should be here soon."

"Who's interrogating him?" I asked, but the door opened in the room with the man in it and I growled as Tony stepped inside. Why did I even let him out of my sight? Probably because I was so angry and…afraid for him. He looked awful and beautiful at the same time. I'd been avoiding him, for his own sake, so I hadn't seen him. We hadn't even been back to the hotel yet. We'd just had Happy drive to get us more comfortable clothes. For me it was a simple green shirt, with a see through brown blouse over it jeans, and old boots.

For Tony it was of course a gorgeous black leather jacket and plain men's black shirt, that had the reactor shining through it. I hadn't even checked to see if mine was shining through. No matter how gorgeous the sight of my gorgeous boyfriend in jeans and a leather jacket was, the anger in me didn't deflate. I wanted nothing more than to be on a beach somewhere drinking rum straight from the hand of Johnny Depp himself. Anything was sounding better than what was going on right now.

When they closed the door behind Tony he paused before walking forward and looking at the side of the man. He was wearing nothing but a white pair of boxers, because they'd searched him all over. And I do mean all over. Pity, though, was not an option. This man had hit Tony without the suit. I can still see the pain in Tony's hills were the whips had hit his legs through the racing outfit.

"Pretty decent tech. Cycles per second were a little low." Tony started off. "You could have doubled up your rotations." Of course he would tell the bad guy how to fix the technology he'd threatened Tony with. "You focused the repulse energy through ionized plasma channels." The man didn't look up at Tony but he did look up at the window, and I stuffed my hands into my pockets, pursing my lips. "It's effective. Not very efficient. But it's a passable knock-off. I don't get it, a little fine tuning; you could have made a solid paycheck." He sat down on the bench next to the man, a good two feet away still, his back to me.

"Go find information on him. Tell Fury that I expect information more quickly if he expects me to be happy." I ordered Coulson, who nodded. From now on I was going to take a better look at my company. To think that the company that was supposed to be the top was taking this long to get me information on one man. That might just be my temper though. I might even be going into shock at this point, who knows?

"-to North Korea, China, Iran, or gone right to the black market." Tony was looking down at his hands but I watched the man smirk smugly and turn to watch Tony. So he was at least listening, and he understood English. I barely paid attention to Coulson who had opened the door to our room and was walking out, getting his phone out, a Vinci phone I'd actually supplied. He was kind of my 'handler' so he had to have good tech. "You look like you've got friends in low places." Their eyes met and finally the man who had gotten so close to Tony, spoke.

"You come from…family of thieves and butchers. And now, like all guilty men, you try to rewrite your own history." His English was choppy, but his words were sharper. My teeth clenched together. I was hard pressed not to be offended for my love, merely out of sheer stubbornness. "And you forget all the lives the Stark family has destroyed."

"Speaking of thieves, where did you get this design?" He asked, no stranger to people digging at him. It would be odder if Tony didn't have someone who was digging at him, be it the senator or the many people that he and I had gotten in trouble. Plus, the many people Tony offends on a daily basis just by breathing.

"My father. Anton Vanko."

I leaned forward, shuffling my feet. It was probably a good thing that I wasn't in there, because I wouldn't have been able to contain myself so well like Tony was achieving. Whoever Anton Vanko was, the man obviously thought we would know him. For the life of me I couldn't remember him, and I don't think that Tony did either.

"Well, I never heard of him." Tony shook his head, still keeping his eyes cautiously locked onto the man in front of him.

"My father is the reason you're alive. He is the reason that your girlfriend is alive." The man nodded towards Tony's chest. My hand was already over my reactor I realized, and I pressed it close, as if it would escape my chest if only I were to release it.

"The reason I'm alive is because you had a shot, and Anna ruined it for you. You missed." Tony responded, tilting his head confidently, but I could still see the caution.

"Did I?" Vanko asked looking completely non-pulsed, and more smug. "If you can make God bleed, the people will cease to believe in him. And there will be blood in the water. And the sharks will come. For you, and for _her_." I flinched and finally just stepped forward, almost pressed against the glass. "The truth? All I have to do is sit here and watch as the world will consume you."

"Where will you be watching the world consume me from?" Tony was quick to reply, not wasting a minute. "That's right. A prison cell. I'll send you a bar of soap." He stood up, walking to the door as Vanko answered.

"Hey, Tony. Before you go. Palladium in the chest, painful way to die." I choked on my own spit as my eyes widened. Tony stopped and turned to him slightly, not nearly as bothered as he should be that Vanko knew we were dying. He tapped on the door, to be let out. Within five seconds he was. I swung around, opening my door and rushing out. I may be angry with him, but that didn't mean I wanted to be the only one watching Vanko. Especially when he started laughing to the air.

Besides, I had a plane to catch.

"-It's just unbelievable. It proves that the genie is out of the bottle and this man and woman have no idea what they are doing." Senator Botox was back. It was like everyone was coming back to haunt me. He looked as smug as one could when they had fresh Botox stuffed into his cheeks. Maybe every time he became insecure about his life he would shoot more Botox. I squeezed the stress ball in my hand. Or make-shift stress ball since it was really just a rubber ball that some kid had dropped around the prison. Strange.

"Tony Stark thinks of the Iron Man weapon as a toy." I was going to strangle something. "I was at a hearing where Mr. Stark, and Annabella Vinci in fact, were both adamant that these suits can't exist anywhere else, don't exist anywhere else, never will exist anywhere else, at least for five to 10 years, and here we are in Monaco realizing, 'These suits exist now.'" The flush on my cheeks was my anger trying very hard to get out. It was like a little ball right in the top of my throat, just urging me to yell at the screen. I sucked on my lips to distract my mouth before I did something that I would regret, for instance calling the interview room and screaming at Senator Stern.

"Mute." Tony's voice said. I didn't look up but I now knew he was standing in the doorway, leaning on it. He walked into the room, now in just his black shirt and jeans. I stared at the screen, where the Senator was still bashing us. If I looked at Tony I feared what would come out of my mouth as well. I was not in a pleasant mood. "He should be giving us medals. That's the truth." I still didn't look, even as Tony sat down in front of me.

I know it's been at least four hours, maybe five since it happened but I wasn't calm yet. I didn't want to talk to him until I was calm. He scared me to death doing something so stupid. Had he trained for it, or at least given me a heads up I might have been less angry but he didn't. He was almost killed. Sure, not by the race track but by making himself vulnerable. He put himself out there were anyone could get to him, but me.

"Ta-da." Tony said, flourishing his hands. I forced myself to look at what he had carried in. It was a food tray, and he dug utensils out of his pocket. My heart fluttered at the cuteness of his expectant look.

"What is that?" I forced out. My motto was, 'Don't act angry and when you get home just dig out the biggest jar of ice cream you have and stop giving a fuck.' It seemed like the best plan until I could calm down.

"This is your in-flight meal." He opened the food to show a plate with a half burnt omelet on it. Parts of it were _green_.

"I don't eat eggs." I said, straight, turning icy without thinking. And there goes the motto. Tony slumped in his seat. "Did you make that?" I looked back at the way he came, as if I could see the kitchen he had no doubt trashed. The egg looked awful so I'm guessing it wasn't some chef who made it and served it.

"Yeah. Where do you think I've been for three hours?" He answered, still tired and maybe disappointed, but even that, or his cuteness, could not break the little bubble of angered worry. He put out one arm, frustrated when he spoke, and then dropped the lid to the floor, staring at the eggs. He looked out the window and I eyed him, and then looked back at the screen. I didn't have to hear it to know that Senator Botox was talking about Hammer and me, because I could see an old picture on the screen. Fucking perfect. Now it was going to be out to the press about our past relationship and our run in.

"Let's go to Venice." Tony interjected, not having looked at the screen. I looked back to him, not answering, only staring for an explanation. "I don't want to go home. Why spend our last moments wrapped up at home in a party for me?" Oh his birthday. Thank _God _I'd remembered that one. His present of course was going to be the brand new Ferrari, painted the same color as his suit, but I don't feel like giving it to him anymore. "We could relive our first date?" He put up his hands trying to get me to speak to him. I don't think Tony realized how bad of an idea it was for me to talk to him right now.

"No. I think it's really important that I don't speak to you for an extended amount of time right now." I finally bit out, getting up to go watch the Senator bash us in another room, Tony Stark free.

"So what, you're going to continue to avoid me?" Tony got up as well, and he caught my wrist. The moment he acknowledged that I was angry with him it was like a tidal wave. I couldn't stop the icy answer, or the jerk I gave to get my arm out of his grip. I completely missed the hurt expression on his face.

"Yes I am, unless you suddenly can explain why it is I watched you get into a racing car that you _don't _know how to drive, and almost get hacked in two by some maniac with whips. I'm going to stay mad at you until I calm down, and so far it's not looking good." I snapped, trying to walk out of the room, frustrated. "And I don't eat eggs!" I shouted. Tony followed me anyways, as I searched to see what damage he did to the kitchen. It would help if I knew where the fucking kitchen was.

"Since when, Anna? Just…" He tried to get me to stop, by getting ahead of me and standing in the door. "Just talk to me, yell at me, and don't ignore me. I don't know how to function without you." I fluttered but it didn't matter. Even with that admission my mind wasn't happy. It was going to rampage until I got it out of my system.

"Don't ignore you? DON'T IGNORE YOU!" I screamed, backing away. "Who fucking ignored who? For years I was ignored by you when I needed you. I've stood by your side for a long time, and now that we are both dying, you just want to go off and get yourself killed even faster!" I kicked at the wall, heading a different way down the hallway. "What the hell where you thinking? I don't even like racing, but I went because you wanted to watch it. Then you just get in a car and I see you going hundreds of miles an hour towards a man who could have very possibly killed you. I CAN BE ANGRY!" I opened the door to the kitchen.

It was a mess, eggs everywhere and the trash can full. It popped into my head that he made that egg even though he didn't know a thing about cooking, and he'd done it for me. He'd done a lot for me and here I was throwing it in his face.

"I'm starting to think this isn't about me." Tony said. His own anger coming back out. He was like a fucking snake, you poke it and it bites you. "Do you think I don't know about Hammer? I remember him perfectly well. That asshole was all over you and _he _took you away from me and you let him-" I swiveled around, throwing a plate at the wall. Pressure was behind my eyes and as the tears fell I ignored them. Tony's expression was either hurt or still angry, or stricken. I couldn't tell but he did step away when I threw the plate, that crashed and broke on the wall.

"He hit me! He beat me every night, Tony. I needed you, and you weren't there. I loved you and he hated me for that. Justin wanted me to _completely_ forget about you. The only way I even got to see you was if I was supposed to show up for some kind of public event." I whipped the tears away as we began to descend. "Where were you then? Drinking and partying? And I still loved you, so don't even start with me about that. This is about you and your insane wish to die and leave me alone in my life with no one to take care of."

"Take care of? Anna, you can't even take care of yourself. You barely eat any more; you work out like you can lose all the memories of that cave through it. You can start taking care of me when you take care of yourself, and seeing as we'll both be dead soon I don't see that happening." Tony remarked, and I broke the moment he did. No anger. That's all I needed to hear to crush me into a little vat of pain, but Tony kept going. "You can blame me for being myself, so I guess I'll go back to being it. I'll see you in ten fucking years."

"Great!" I shouted. "I tell you I was beat in a past relationship and you turn it back to you!"

"You said you didn't want this argument to be about that! I can't please you!" Tony yelled back, gripping his hair. I took a shuttering breath as he stopped talking, licking my lips, and rubbing my eyes to try and calm down.

"This is why I didn't want to talk yet." I faintly muttered.

"No fucking kidding." Tony grunted, looking up at me and I looked back. I couldn't say anything though. There might not have been anger, but there was sadness. I looked away from him and press a hand to the comforting feel of the arc reactor.

"I'm going to take some time to cool off." I decided, looking back. His face, once grumpy and fuming shattered at my announcement.

"Anna, we don't-"

"Yes, yes we do. I can't…" I licked my lips. "I didn't mean to say….I'm going to my mansion. You can have your party in Venice or at your house. I'll send my present over through Rhodey." I turned around, ready to leave the room as the robot that flew the plane announced for us to fasten our seatbelts.

"I tried to tell you, I canceled my party, Anna." Tony told me, his voice more tired than I'd ever heard it but it only made my shoulders slump and my hand tighten on my reactor.

"I'll…I'll be less angry tomorrow maybe I can come over and we can talk." I muttered, not turning around, and instead walking away. It's what I should have done when he came in the door. Why didn't I just leave? Now Tony and I had argued and practically split up.

I flinched at the mere thought. I really hadn't meant to blow up at him; I knew we shouldn't have talked. Now I'd not only told him that I was beaten, but he hadn't reacted. He was supposed to react. I sat down at my chair, buckling in. The stress ball had at some point dropped out of my hands, and I probably wouldn't find it.

I didn't even know what to do with myself, much less the ball. I'd completely blown up at Tony because I was angry in the moment. He was right, he was just being himself, being reckless and live threatening. He wanted to live a little before he died.

"Anna?" I looked up to see Natasha, buckling in the seat in front of me. "Why are you crying?"

I swiped at my eyes, sniffling. "It's nothing; I just got angry and yelled at Tony. Silly really, to be angry over something as stupid as this. He's always risking his life."

"It's not silly." Natasha shook her head. "I know that you and Tony are dying." I jolted in my seat and looked up. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has been looking for a way to help, but we can't find anything either. That isn't the point here." How many times have I heard that something isn't the point, most of the time out of my own mouth? "When Clint and I went on a mission once he stupidly thought he was going to be a big shot. He took a risk and got shot. The bullet barely missed his lung." Natasha looked out the window. "I was angry at him for a week."

"Tony isn't Clint." I whispered, looking slightly to the left, seeing Tony's crushed face in my mind all over again. "I shouldn't have spoken to him until I was calmed down. Tony's always this way. He was so angry at me for being angry. We said some awful things and I…"

"I heard." Natasha told me, again taking me by surprise. "You were being pretty loud. So Hammer beat you? Do you think you are over it?" She asked.

"Yes. I've been over it, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still scare me." I answered, without thought to it. It was the truth, after all. Big bad Iron Woman, scared of Justin Hammer.

"I think you were testing Stark." Natasha said, and she handed me a folder I didn't even notice she was holding. "I've sent a copy to Fury already but this is my evaluation. Thought you might want to read it." I took it from her, staring blankly at the folder. The plane hit the runway and I could feel it slowing down in the silence that followed. I didn't open the folder. "The fight wasn't your fault, nor was it his. I don't think the two of you have grasped that you are dying until now, and are taking it out on each other."

The captain came on to say we were landing. I didn't get up with Natasha but she left me sitting there, holding the folder and trying to rethink my life.

I couldn't go back to Tony's house, not yet. It was dark outside and my Lamborghini was cold inside, but I didn't turn the heat on. I'd spent the last four hours, after getting off the plane an hour after everyone else, riding around. Going back to my mansion wasn't something I looked forward to but I'd sentenced myself to it.

I deserved it, how could I put him through that kind of argument? Natasha had to be right, because all the anger was gone to be left with despair. I'd completely run off the man that I loved because I didn't want him to die. That was the problem here, not Justin, or his stupid stunt with the race car. It was all just a catalyst.

Avoiding the mansion was not going to work forever but pulling into the driveway ten minutes after deciding to, was hard for me. The gates opened and the driveway lit up in the dark. I didn't even bother with what time it was. Parking and sitting back in my seat I looked up at the mansion.

It was still well taken care of; even the pool sparkled with water. No doubt JARVIS had taken care of that when he'd realized where I was headed. I unbuckled myself and got out of the car, grabbing the folder of Natasha's evaluation and heading inside the beautiful house. Somehow, even as I ran my fingers along the walls, and I changed into just my underwear for a change, the house felt wrong. It didn't feel like home.

I sat down in my living room on my soft couch, staring at the folder in my hands. I don't know if I want to find out what's in there. Everything had been so hectic since Natasha arrived; I doubt she had anything good to say. Hesitantly I flipped it open, skipping over the basic information until I found the section that made me turn ice cold.

Illnesses: PTSD, Low Self-esteem

I read it aloud in my numb state.

"Annabella Vinci suffers from flashbacks of her previous torture, and can often be seen flinching away from men. Her only concern is Tony Stark her current romantic partner. She doesn't touch water, and stays clear of it for any reason if it's even possibly considered a fountain or pool. She believes herself unworthy of everything that has happened to her, and believes that everything that happens to Mr. Stark is her fault. Not recommended until seen about."

I dropped the folder as if it had scolded me. I hadn't even realized. I knew the flashbacks weren't a good sign, but they were getting fewer and fewer. She'd only been around maybe what could be considered two days and she knew that? Self-esteem was true, it was all true. How bad was I?

Can't touch water. I didn't even notice that. It made sense now. I hadn't put any kind in the tower, replacing them with statues or nothing at all. It was a basically R&D playground. I stood up.

"PTSD my ass." I was determined. I'm not going to have it. Not bothering, or thinking, of a swimsuit I waltzed around the corner of the living room that lead straight outside and to the pool outside.

"Ms. Vinci, might I persist that swimming at this time of night and without a part-"

"Mute." I demanded, stopping at the edge of the water. There were steps there but I didn't see them what I saw was something much worse than the cold pool water.

**I couldn't breathe, everything was horribly pressuring. I couldn't think, as all oxygen left my brain and the world spun. Then the disgusting bastards pulled me up again, only to let me get two breaths in before they pushed me back under. I screamed into the water, being able to make no sense of anything. Where was the floor? The top of the vat? Where was all of this water coming from? Again they pulled me up. I gasped for breathes; only getting one in before I was in again. Then the electromagnet short circuited.**

I shook my head, thrusting one of my feet into the water and taking a deep breath.

Nothing happened. I swallowed, placing my foot gently down onto the first step, and then my other foot. Nothing was happening. No one was attacking me, or holding me down and telling me to give them things. I cautiously moved down the steps, until the water was to my waist. Nothing, not a storm of people to do anything, just me standing in water. It was actually cold, and the lights were so even though it was midnight I could see the water was clear, no blood.

"This isn't so bad." I muttered aloud, ready to smile, as I cautiously moved farther down. It wasn't until it hit under my breasts that I realized no supervision was a bad idea. A bug flew by and landed in the water, and it seemed like it would be okay but I saw it drowning, and my mind thought 'Now I'm swimming in dirty water'.

**I screamed right before they thrust my head into that disgusting water, that I was sure blood was all in. Now, as I held my breath, I understood why Tony was wet. They had tried this on him, but it had not worked.**

**And now they were using me. **

The water was cold as I tried to step away, tripping in the water. I guess my limbs forgot how to actually swim because my head went under water. I tried to scream for help, which only made it all worse. I inhaled water and chocked, thrashing around to get back up. My mind was racing, my limbs incapable of coordinating. I was losing my mind fast and all I could think was this was not my best idea. Any angry determination I'd once had turned into icy fear.

Blessedly, my feet hit the bottom again and my head came up out of the water, but that didn't mean I didn't reach for the edge of the expansive pool and tug myself out, shivering. It was so cold. What happened? One moment I'm fine and then a bug set me off? Natasha was right. I'm useless. I can't even step into a pool. What kind of superhero was I that I couldn't even _stand_ in a pool much less swim in one?

What if something comes up with water, and I can't do anything because I'm too scared about water. I won't be able to save anyone because I can't swim. People will die because I'm worthless and scared of water, _water_. Of all things, snakes, spiders, tornadoes, I the superhero had to be scared of something as stupid as water.

"Ms. Vinci?" JARVIS called, the worry in his voice more than an A.I. should feel. His voice though had finally broken through the haze and I took a shuddering breath, nearly crying with relief. I wasn't alone. JARVIS was here with me. "Should I contact Mr. Stark or-"

"NO." I shouted, then shuttered. "No, I'm fine. It was just different then I remember. Get me a shower started." I distracted him, trying to pick myself up. Why was it so difficult? Oh, because I was shaking. I grabbed onto the bars that separated the driveway below and the pool, using them to make my way back inside, staying at least a foot away from the water at every point.

Finally, after taking a shower and grabbing my comforter I made my way to my sofa again, eyeing the folder that started my episode. She was right, I'm full of flaws. My biggest one probably being a coward. I couldn't do anything without Tony, and now I'd run him off for good.

I didn't sleep at all that night.

Not a wink of sleep, not even in the next day. I ended up sitting on the sofa, staring at the T.V. screen, listening to both Tony and I being bashed, for the next day, completely ignoring that it was Tony's birthday. Every sting to my heart when his face appeared kept me awake, and the re-readings of Natasha's evaluation broke me a little more. At one point Dummy 2 brought me a cup of hot cocoa. I didn't have the heart to tell him that my diet didn't call for cocoa, and I didn't know where he got it. It just reminded me of how Tony had said I didn't take care of myself, and how I told him I didn't want to eat his eggs. Why didn't I just eat the eggs?

I was so selfish, to think that I could have a happy ever after with Tony. I should have known better. Where did I even think that this relationship was going? Happy had to have been wrong, because Tony couldn't possibly love me this way.

"This just in…" I heard and I sighed again, taking a sip of the warm drink now in my hands. "A break in was attempted at Stark & Vinci headquarters today, thought to be an attempt to get at Annabella Vinci." I watched and stood up, nearly slamming the cup on my coffee table, and instead heading towards my closet again, thinking to go down there. I stumbled a little and frowned when I had to rub my eyes.

The thought of actually going had barely even crossed my mind but my body was moving anyways.

"JARVIS, prepare the new Ferrari. I'm going down to Stark & Vinci to investigate." I ordered, opening my bedroom door and heading for the open door of the closet. Gritting my teeth I rubbed my eyes and my nose. My head was starting to pound and my chest hurt. "Do a check on my toxicity levels as well using the energy scanner." I muttered, pulling out something easy to wear. A black pair of skinny jeans, a sports bra under a silver, woolen, and sparkling sweater. The same pair of old worn out boots and a bracelet, and sunshades to hide the dark spots under my eyes. I couldn't do anything about the flush of my cheeks.

"You are at 90%." JARVIS supplied and I sighed, heading down.

When I arrived at the garage to see the Ferrari there I almost backed out and drove my Lamborghini. But I wasn't going to be able to not see him, not if I wanted to be happy again. Tony might have been better off without me, but I needed him despite myself.

Yes, I'm going to confront Tony. If I wanted to get better then I was going to have to take this problem by the horns or whatever that stupid quote was. I just have to grit my teeth and get it over with. If he doesn't want to be with me anymore, then I'll just have to go from there.

So I got in Tony's birthday present and drove out of my garage, headed to Stark & Vinci. When I arrived it was seemingly fine, besides the police car out front still. Nothing about the building itself seemed to have anything wrong with it. It was even sparkling in the lights of the town and I couldn't decide if it was because of maintenance or not but I would definitely be giving them some kudos for the appearance. I got out of the car, closing it and walking up to the police people just coming out. The press, of course, were all being held back by security as they snapped photos.

"Hello, I'm Annabella Vinci." I introduced, sticking out my hand to the police, ignoring the reporters shouting things out to me or snapping pictures.

"Oh, Ms. Vinci." The woman balked. One was a woman, and the other a man. I smiled not having enough energy for much else. When I wasn't dying of palladium a night without rest would have been fine, but with the palladium I was risking my health for this. "We were just about to call you. There was a break in last night. No one is dead this time, but someone was injured."

"An employee?" I questioned.

"Yes, a Mr. Daniel Snipes. He claimed he was working on the construction of the new Stark & Vinci tower in New York, and was here where some blueprints up in the main office of Mr. Stark. Would this be likely?" The male asked now.

"Yes, he's our main constructor. We rely on him." I pushed my fingers through my hair. "I would have been here sooner but I didn't know." I held out my hand to him. "Thank you so much, is the suspect in custody?"

"Yes, he's being put in the jail until we can get him a trial but we should have enough evidence." He nodded and I glanced at the press when they called out for the police men to let me talk to them.

"Is it safe to go up there? I want to check out the office, and make sure nothing irreplaceable was damaged." I explained, shifting in my boots and wiggling my toes.

"Of course, can I just…" The man flushed. "My husband would never forgive me if I didn't get a picture with you. Can I? I mean if you're alright with…it?" I felt a little delighted that I realized he was gay.

"Of _course_." I stressed. "Would you mind if I kept one as well? Send it to me? I've been dying to meet someone married ever since they made it legal." I let him stand next to me and I held up my sunglasses from my eyes. "I would have put something better on had I known." The woman officer held up her own phone and fumbled with the settings. I was vaguely reminded of Jimmy, from the Humvee but I pushed it away to smile for the flash.

"It's all because of you." The man gushed, grinning. "If you hadn't funded our efforts…"

"No, really it wasn't. I was just a push. I'll see you later? Call me if you need anything, my PR has my number." I waved them away, eyeing the press before sighing and flipping down my sunglasses again to prepare. As soon as I was within distance of them they started yelling out questions. I held up my hand and they stuttered to a stop, after a moment.

"This is my official statement." I said, not taking my sunglasses off. "I don't know if I'm aloud to give out details, but I'm under the impression you already know. Daniel was a close employee of mine, and will be receiving completely paid for medical care from my personal bank account. I wish him the best in recovery, and I hope he sees this. That's all; now please stop stalking the building and let the police work in peace." I turned away, ignoring the shouts of protest and begs to answer their questions. Instead I hurried inside to do just what I said I was going to, check out Tony's office.

As soon as I was in the elevator I let out a breath and slid to the ground. JARVIS was programed to take me straight to my floor, once I was in the building but I was more worried about taking in deep breaths. Being in public hurt especially knowing that I was probably going to be seen by Tony. This would be brought up on the news, and added to my already horrible credit right now.

When the elevator door dinged I startled, jumping up and trying to smooth my hair down. It was all for not, seeing as nobody was there. The two police officers were the last here. I wonder how come nobody had informed me, or Tony. Maybe they had informed Tony and I just didn't know it. I walked to Tony's open office door and looked in. Nothing seemed damaged, just a splotch of taped off blood and the signs of a scuffle by a knocked off fake building on the model. That was Tony's father's model. I sighed, bending over to pick it up and place it back on the model.

Tony's birthday party would have passed by now, it was night out after all. I looked outside. I hadn't even noticed. I must have seemed strange with my sunglasses on at night, but I felt strange. Today was Tony's birthday. He'd canceled his party to spend today with me and then I'd just not said anything, but neither had he. I suppose if he'd been the one to blow up at me I wouldn't have either.

We wouldn't last long not talking to each other, which is why I brought the Ferrari. Hopefully the car would say 'Sorry I screamed at you and said all those things' enough.

I looked back at the model for a second and then back out, but then I frowned, looking back. Was it just me or….. "JARVIS, scan this. I want every nock and cranny memorized, do you understand me?" I ordered, bending down to look at it. Why did it seem as if this was an element?

"As you wish. I would like to point out that you have left your cell phone, and Mr. Rhodes is calling." JARVIS answered. I frowned, abandoning the model for a moment.

"Direct him over to this phone, and then put it on speaker." I dropped into the seat behind the desk, not touching the spot of blood.

"Anna?" Rhodes asked, and I blinked at the worry in his voice.

"Yeah, Rhodes it's me." I said, folding my arms on the desk and resting them there.

"I just found Tony. Have you seen the news?" He questioned.

"Yeah, someone broke into Stark & Vinci-"

"Not that, not that. Tony knocked Justin Hammer out." Rhodes informed me.

"_What?"_

**Hi. Wonderful weather we are having right? Yep Tony and Anna are on the fritz. I don't know what to say. I'm starting work on the Avengers but it's actually been a while since I have written Anna so I'm not sure. I'm just trying to get a feel of her. Still not sure if I want to put Ava in the Avengers, but if I do it won't be as a strong character I think. I kind of want it to be about Anna and not Ava but I still love the idea of putting them both in there. I guess you'll just have to wait until I publish it to see if I do or don't put her in it.**

**My vacation is almost over, but I've got something else coming up. At least this chapter was long!**


	6. THat once again you long

"_He found him at a club and decked him. Hammer was limping away from that fight. Tony got back to the mansion. Anna, he could barely make it out of the hot rod when I found him. I think he was in there all night, looking things up about Vanko. I came to give him his birthday present."_

_Deep Breathes._

"_Anna, he's a mess. If I didn't know him better I'd say he was seriously in pain. What happened?"_

_Breath._

"_What was burning in his chest? He took it out but he wouldn't tell me, he just lied to me. Why does he have purple marks on his skin? Anna? He made me leave."_

"_I'll be there soon."_

I might have broken the speed limit, just a little. It didn't take me long, or much brain thought to realize there was something horribly wrong in my calculations. Apparently my telling Tony about Justin might have had a bigger impact then I thought. My gut was twisting in my stomach as I jumped up the stairs of the workshop. If he'd been here before, he wasn't any more, but someone else's car was here.

"Tony?" I called, hesitantly. Something black moved and I turned around, only to see Nick Fury strutting down the hallway. "Director? What's going on?"

"I've just had a talk with Stark." Director Fury said, moving forward to shake my hand. "Finally we meet in person. You're shorter then you look on T.V."

"I get that a lot." I said, still in shock. "What happened to Tony?" I licked my lips.

"Relax, I didn't come here to tear him down. I just gave him a push that he sorely needed. I think you'll remember that I invited Mr. Stark and yourself to join in on the Avengers?" He asked.

"Yeah, he told me you asked him to." I hadn't been home with Tony at that point; I'd been too busy messing with legal. "And we said no?" I frowned.

"Right. I messed with his head a little bit, by the way he knows about Agent Romanoff. Has anyone told you that he is rather cocky?" Director Fury told me. I nodded, still not happy. "The arc reactor was unfinished technology. Your father and his father worked on it. I was merely a bodyguard for your father when they were working on it. Howard said that it was an energy system that was going to dwarf the arms race…."

I listened carefully, if not a bit anxiously as Director Fury told me everything I'm guessing he had told Tony.

"He seemed to hate Howard." I could see the digging he was doing. At least he wasn't trying to hide it. I snorted, lifting my sunglasses finally.

"Good men don't always become good fathers." I chuckled dryly. "Howard was an alcoholic at the best of times, and a raging, unloving father at his worst. The only way Tony could get a response from him was if he managed to pull off some big inventing thing that surpassed someone else." I sneered. "Howard tried not to show that to the public, or any of his friends." Fury frowned and his eyebrows came together, if you could call it that. I was a little side tracked by the eye patch and the creepy scars on his face.

"Listen I got another meeting to get to. I left Coulson here, and Agent Romanoff is staying, as a floater but we'll need her for missions every now and again. Do you have Stark?" He asked, glancing at his watch. "He's got no contact with the outside world, besides you though he seemed pretty sure that wasn't necessary." I didn't miss his pointed stare. "Coulson will keep him on the premises. I suggest making up with your boyfriend before you both die." He walked away. I stared after him in shock.

"He is every inch as strange as his file said he was." I muttered to myself, but now that I was no longer distracted by Fury I jumped in place before heading off to anxiously find Tony.

"He's in the workshop." I heard. I turned around, surprised to see Natasha and Coulson watching the plasma screen as if they weren't in Tony's house. I was almost nostalgic for when Nat and Clint would do that in my own house.

"He can't be I just came from there." I furrowed my eyebrows. "Nice to see you again Coulson. Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" I asked Natasha, raising an eyebrow.

"Everything is currently being taken care of, and you have no appointments, Ms. Vinci. Clint would like to say Hi, as well." She listed off, not looking away from the T.V. screen where Super Nanny was actually playing. I rolled my eyes.

"He went down through the stairs, when Director Fury caught you." Coulson told me. "He doesn't know you're here, though I suspect he's seen your car now."

"Tony still wouldn't know. I drove his present over here." I called back as I rushed out of the room and back down the stairs. I tried to be quiet, just in case he wasn't down there or he was, I couldn't fathom which one was the real reason. When I went down the stairs, instead of the room being lit up like it was, it was dark, and a screen was going with a movie playing. I tugged off my boots, and told JARVIS to shut off all noises.

"-Better living, robust health and for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace. I'm Howard Stark, and everything you'll need for the future can be found right here." The bloopers for the Stark Expo were playing. I watched silently by the door as Howard messed up his lines. I winced when a cute little Tony and my little head could be seen behind him. I even watched as we were yelled at by Howard for grabbing it and Tony's mother hurried on to usher us off the scene.

Eventually I gained enough courage to look at the real Tony. He was sitting there, almost half-heartedly flipping through a booklet of some kind. A case I'd never seen before was sitting open next to him as the movie played on some old kind of projector. The bloopers were just ending, and Tony threw the booklet down for some reason, picking up a glass of chlorophyll that sat next to him. He had on the same black shirt, I realized with guilt, and a horrible robe that surprisingly I could remember getting him for his birthday one year as a joke.

"Tony?" I looked at the screen. Howard was facing the screen now, as if he really was talking to Tony now. And he was. "You're too young to understand this right now so I thought I would put it on film for you." He swept his arm towards the model behind him. "I built this for you. And someday you'll realize that it represents a whole lot more than just people's inventions. It represents my life's work." Tony crossed his arms and leant his head on them a he paid attention. "This is the key to the future."

I thought again of what I saw in the model as flashes of the model arc reactor and other hints came on. "I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out. And when you do, you will change the world. What is and always will be my greatest creation is you." And it cut off. I blinked and held my hand over my mouth, tentatively moving forward as Tony slumped back in his chair.

It didn't make up for how he treated Tony but I was glad Howard had made it. If it didn't help Tony, it helped me. I now knew that I was right, about the model, and I wasn't going crazy. I bit my lip before clearing my throat. "Tony?"

His head lifted, and he looked around to me, his eyes widening. I watched him jump up.

"Anna?" The moment his voice hit me I ran forward, jumping into his arms that he held out. Tony staggered but his arms squeezed tightly around me. I had mine around his neck and I breathed in his scent, bringing my legs up to wrap around his waist. Even in my tired state I felt such extreme relief being in his arms.

"Tony, Tony, Tony." I repeated. "I'm so sorry. I love you, please forgive me. I shouldn't have yelled I was worried and I took it out on you," I pulled back and kissed him, forcing my lips on his. He dropped to one knee, kissing me back and he laid me down in the chair, slipping his wet tongue into my warm mouth. I rubbed mine against his, groaning when he pulled back.

"Anna, I-" He cleared his throat because his was so husky. I listened, but didn't let him separate from me. "I'm sorry." He grunted out. "I know I said some things I didn't mean either but all couples fight, right?" Tony tentatively grinned. "And with me in the relationship, we'll fight twice as much."

"Not this bad. I'm serious Tony, it was my fault and I'm really sorry. It was on Valentine's day, and now after you canceled your big party I ignored you. And why did you deck Justin?" I questioned, jumping topics.

"He deserved it. You didn't think I would just let that slide did you?" Tony wrinkled his eyebrows and I couldn't help but think he was sexy, even as I noticed the cut under his eyes, and the un-shaved parts of his face that should have been shaved. I nearly balked when I realized he hadn't been taking care of himself because of _me._

"Well, yeah I mean, you've never been that protective before…" I blushed when Tony squeezed my waist, tugging me closer until my belly aligned with his chest, pressing his arc reactor against my stomach.

"I haven't treated you right, no don't interrupt." Tony stopped me as I opened my mouth to disagree. "I shouldn't have left you to deal with him, even if I thought that was what you wanted. Happy has brought to my attention that you were under the misguided belief that I didn't love you. I'll say it every day if I have to from now on. I love you. I am in love with you." He brushed his lips to mine, and then down my throat. "There is no girl, from the past or in any of my future that I will ever want to be with more then you."

"You can't be sure." I faintly disagreed, as he bit my collarbone. "There may be someone down the line that you really like, maybe someone like Natasha or someone smarter than me."

"No, I won't." Tony argued, licking his bite and lifting his head. "You are perfect. In every way, just because I love you? No. I love everything, including the scars you don't think I see." Tony tugged my shirt up and over my head, forcing me to release him in surprise and let him. I had my sports bra on under, but it didn't hide all of the scaring as it was leading under my breast. I idly noticed that the purple worms had expanded. "I saw them when Yinsen put the first reactor in."

I looked up to meet his eyes as he tugged me back to him, still on his knees. "Tony."

"You have no idea how angry I got when I realized that while I'd been just _lying _there that they'd been hurting you. If I hadn't been under the anesthetic they would have focused on me. I wanted to kill those bastards for more than one reason." He kissed me with a brush of hot lips and whiskers. I fell into the kiss with a surprised groan.

"Tony, I." He kissed me again, cutting me off. "I really didn't think you cared that much. I'm sorry." I hastily added on, wrapping my hands in his hair and licking my lips to taste him again. "You were always so distant and got around so much for so long I kind of thought you weren't going to ever love me and I just…When you said you did, I didn't believe you. I just thought that I would ride it out until you decided to throw me out and-" He harshly tugged me against him, almost bending me back to lay down on the chair.

"Never say that." He pulled back to growl, one hand supporting my back, and the other clutching my clothed hip. "I've always loved you; it just took me a while to realize it was more than friendship love." I was so overwhelmed I couldn't think of anything more to do then pull him against me and kiss him, smiling.

"Thank you, thank you." I kissed him again, nearly grinning into it. "I love you, I really do. Please don't ever leave me." I inhaled when he dug his fingers into my lower back.

"Never. If anyone thinks they can hit you like Hammer did, I'll kill them." Tony grunted, looking me in the eyes, which were tearing up again. I released his hair to rub at them.

"Thank you; I don't know how to ever repay you for this. I just…I couldn't believe you loved me and you're still sitting here even though I said those things to you." He pulled back my hands to bump his forehead comfortingly against mine.

"I should be the one surprised you love me. Admitting I was reckless isn't hard, and admitting I might have unnecessarily said some things isn't either. I was just trying to hurt you because you hurt me. I'm sorry, we're both sorry and we didn't mean the fight to go that far." Tony pulled back, grinning. "Now we can peacefully die knowing we love each other." It was so sad, and yet Tony was smiling that I couldn't help the laugh that let my mouth, and I had to cover my mouth as giggles kept coming out, ruining the mood.

"Sorry, sorry. You just seemed so…" I waved my hands around.

"So what?" Tony's grin turned decidedly evil. It was the only warning I got as his fingers dug into my sides. I squealed in forced laughter as he tickled me, eventually I shrieked, squirming away from him and collapsing, painfully. I groaned, laying there.

Oh, this wasn't right. Yeah, he tickled me but the pain in my chest wasn't going away. It should have gone away by now. I breathed as steadily as I could, rolling over to stare up at the ceiling, wheezing. "Anna? Anna? Did you change your cartridge?" Tony was over me, looking more worried now then happy. I looked up at him, not having thought of it. I shook my head and giggled again. My head was woozy.

He came back moments later, with a palladium cartridge in hand. I bit my lip as Tony pulled down the sports bra just enough so he could take the reactor out and change it. I didn't miss this time as his eyes lingered on my barely covered breasts. I glanced at his covered chest, knowing what was under and wanting nothing more than to run my fingers and nails over it.

"We should um…focus on uh the reactor." I muttered, quietly. Tony blinked and looked up to my eyes, smiling an eye crinkling smile. It left me breathless and wishing I didn't say anything. I licked my lips even as he backed up, helping me up off the chair as he got up, having changed the reactor. I really wish I hadn't said anything. I didn't bother replacing my silvery shirt, sighing and ruffling my hair.

"That Director from your company came, and left me this." Tony gestured to the box of things. Apparently, if my clouded mind wasn't remembering incorrectly, Director Fury had told me it belonged to Tony's father. And the longer I spent at least these few feet away from Tony, my mind cleared.

"Yeah, actually I was at the company earlier, when I got Rhodes' call and-"

"Rhodes called you?" Tony questioned.

"Maybe. Anyways, the plant was broken into, and Daniel was injured, we're paying for that by the way." I waved away his concerns, not sure Rhodes would appreciate Tony knowing that Rhodey had tattled on Tony to me. "And I noticed something about the model, in your office." Tony looked confused and he opened his mouth but then closed it. I grinned, blissful. Yeah, that's what this emotion was, bliss of a complete and total kind. "JARVIS, can you pull up the scan and show it to Tony?" I asked.

"Indeed, Ms. Vinci." JARVIS seemed happy as well. A few seconds later a blue hologram of the model board came up.

"If you squint, does it not look like an atom?" I questioned. "JARVIS highlight the unisphere." I ordered. He did so and I pushed the hologram so that it was turned so it would be flat against a wall had a wall been there.

"I see it." Tony muttered, pulling me with him as he moved by an arm around my waist, and JARVIS let the hologram follow, into a clear part of the lab. Tony grabbed a chair and sat down in it, tugging me into his lap. I blinked and blushed, but didn't say anything. "Lose the footpaths, get rid of them."

"What is it you're trying to achieve, sir?" JARVIS asked, doing as asked.

"I'm discovering…Correction, I'm rediscovering a new element, I believe." Tony said, putting his head on my shoulder. I bit my lips, eyeing the hologram as well. I really could see it. I felt like all of those years in early college were finally coming back to me.

"Drop the landscaping, the shrubbery, you know trees." I remarked, flicking them away with my own hands.

"Parking lots, exits, and entrances as well." Tony flicked them away. "Structure the protons and the neutrons using the pavilions as a framework. JARVIS did so and the result was an atom, with little balls of neutrons around them. The atom that Tony's father discovered. Tony clapped his hand and enlarged the hologram to surround us. I swiveled us around to marvel at it.

"This is amazing." I muttered, tilting my head.

"Yep, dead for almost 20 years, and still taking me to school." Tony pondered with a smile. With a clap of his hands together he made the illusion small in his hands, which were now in my lap. I took the hologram from him into my hands, smiling.

"The proposed element should serve as a viable replacement for palladium. Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesize." JARVIS interjected. I jumped up, placing the illusion off to the side.

"I beg to differ." I walked to the machine area, rubbing You's arm as I went around, skipping.

"Get ready for a major remodel, fellas. We're back in hardware mode." Tony almost sang in his excitement. I used a little force to roll out one of the energy parts. It hadn't been what it was made for _exactly_ but it was good enough, if we tweaked a bit of it.

**Sorry I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted the last one. I'm horrible at remembering things like this. I'm home now so they should pick up. Unfortunately I'm going to have some regular life coming in more then I'm used to. So I might have even less time for me to write. I'm having a hard time finding inspiration to write. Alas, I'm still excited to write for the Avengers and I've got a surprise to. I'm hoping I will anyways. I have to rewrite it because it got messed up at least halfway through.**

**Tell me what you think of the story so far!**

**And yeah, they didn't last fighting for so long, but oh well. I'm hoping for some real in depth thoughts here so don't disappoint!**


	7. To take your heart back and be free

"Oh, is it ready?" I called out.

For the entire night we'd been working. I'd gotten some sleep, at the insistence of Tony, but I'd made him get some sleep to, when I was working. Together we'd managed to nearly tear the house to pieces. We'd busted through one wall, put a hole in a roof, broke the floor to get the electrical box, and we'd sent for any parts we didn't already have, even digging some stuff out of storage. We had books and decorations out, to level the machinery on.

Coulson had even been down here not too long ago to say good bye. Apparently there was some kind of problem in New Mexico that he had to deal with. It had been hilarious when Tony had found the Captain America decoration and made Coulson, a huge fan, hold the coil as he shoved it underneath. It was almost to amazing to realize that Tony and I had fit back together after the fight, as if we hadn't even had one. I'd been left with a new…sense of rightness and Tony seemed…freer. Of course, that could be because we possibly won't be dying anytime soon.

It had taken almost another entire day to get everything set up but we were finally on our way. "Yep. You ready for this?" Tony asked me, holding a large wrench and I jumped up to help him put the light refractor in the chamber.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't hit anything but the two triangles with it and we'll be good." I glanced back. They were placed one behind the other, so that Tony could hit them without breaking through both sides of the conductors holding them. I took the key from where it was hanging from my neck. I'd been sitting, taking a break while Tony did 'something' that he wouldn't tell me about. I was still suspicious but I wasn't going to say anything. I wouldn't want to start another argument or anything.

It didn't mean I couldn't be curious. And no matter how much I begged JARVIS refused to tell me, or even hint to me, what Tony was doing. All I knew, was I wasn't supposed to know what it is and Tony hadn't even acknowledged it. So here I am, also acting like I had no idea what was going on.

When the light refractor clicked in Tony slipped his long sleeve shirt off and I almost drooled. Yes, it was good not to be fighting, and it was good not to be loving him in silence. It meant that _all _of him was mine. It felt nice to know that to no matter how weird it felt. Like butterflies in my throat and in my reactor even.

I went to the box that held the software and the start up system for the refractors. I pushed the key into it and pushed the button. "We are a go." I called. Just the charge created an amazingly, exciting sound to listen to. This was going to hopefully fix us, if it worked. I had to push a few more buttons to initialize the prismatic accelerator but as soon as JARVIS announced it was correct I got up off the floor where the system box had been placed and watched. There was no way I would have enough strength to move the wheel that controlled the mirror.

For a moment it didn't look like Tony would either. I stuffed on a pair of red glasses, to stop the light energy from burning my eyes out as I watched him. "Approaching maximum power." Jarvis' voice called, having to get louder to get over the sound of the charge. I almost jumped when the light began being refracted out of the machine, and instead into a wall.

"Jesus, Tony!" I shouted, slapping his very muscular arm. Tony grabbed the large wrench that he had put down and used it as leverage to work the wheel. I watched in stunned silence as he slowly moved it to the triangles. He ended up cutting through a pillar, a cabinet full of flammable liquids, the wall, and through the side of the conductor before he hit the triangles. I watched in amazement as first one triangle began to glow blue, and he moved it an inch to fill up the one behind it, shooting through the middle of the first one.

When he shut it off the triangles literally glowed everywhere, all on their own.

"That was easy." Tony remarked, dodging under the machine to jog to the triangles. I followed him, a little calmer but less so in a sense. This triangle was going to save us. It was going to keep us alive long enough to go get ourselves killed somewhere else, but at least then we weren't being killed slowly and torturously. As Tony sat down in the spinney chair I looked to the damaged things around the lab. A lot of things were damaged; hell the whole house was practically. I should probably book us a hotel room or something, but the bed wasn't really messed up, just the house.

Tony used a set of wire cutters to grasp the first triangle. I watched in awe as he held it up in between us. "It looks so insignificant." I muttered, looking up from the triangle and to Tony. "I guess this can be chalked up to you. _This _time."

"What?" Tony raised an eyebrow. I grinned at him.

"Well in the cave I was the one to think up the reactor." I nodded, grabbing his hand and moving it to the newer version of the arc reactor that would be compatible with the new element. Tony pouted, but released the piece into the reactor, which closed behind it.

"The Arc reactor has accepted the modified core." JARVIS told us.

"I think the suit is on the same level as your idea for the reactor." Tony told me, even as he took the other one off the conductor and repeated the process. I sighed, sitting on the table and eyeing the reactors.

"Yeah, I guess. I hope this works." I ruffled my hair. "JARVIS start running diagnostics will you?" I asked, looking at Tony and grinning at him. His eyes were set on the reactors and it made my eyes crinkle at the sides with my large grin. He was sweaty from working and he looked to be concentrating so hard on watching the reactors that he hadn't even heard my question.

"Sir, your package is ready." JARVIS announced. I blinked.

"What package?" I questioned.

"Nothing, nothing." Tony blinked as well, backing away from the table. "I'm going to go shower, are you good here for now?" Tony got up, walking swiftly away.

"I will find out!" I shouted after him, tempted to follow him. Sadly I didn't know whether I'd be following him to find out what he was planning or if I was following him so that I could shower with him. "One of these days…." I muttered, picking up the robe on the back of the chair and then slipping it on so I could move the reactors over to a cleaner station with the computers.

"You, get to work cleaning up please, babe." I cooed at the machine. "You and Dummy have been so good for me. Thank you." I rubbed its hand with the back of my hand as I sat down. I sat the arc reactors down on the table, using the keyboard and the mouse to get on the computer. Might as well do some work while I'm waiting. I opened a few pages and my e-mail. I was surprised by how little I had to do. I'm pretty good at keeping up with work but I've pretty much shirked most of it the last few days.

I guess somebody took care of it for me. Probably the financial people. I've been working on hiring more people to help take care of my work and Tony's so that we could focus on being the 'Iron Couple'. I tapped on the message that seemed to be from my PR manager for the Stark Expo. I clicked on the link.

"Is that the finished website?" I jumped, swiveling around to see Tony standing there freshly dressed and _shirtless_ the little shit. I swallowed, and eyed the little bit of hair leading from Tony's stomach down to the waist of his jeans before I cleared my throat and averted my eyes back to the screen, to save myself.

"Yeah, did you know Justin has a slot? I can't wait to see what he's presenting, the black eye or the busted lip." I grinned again, smugly. "I hope there's a video." I hummed, clicking on the information for Justin's slot. It didn't give much, just a presentation for some kind of drone. Probably a last ditch attempt at trying to upstage Tony or get his pride back.

"Madam, there is an incoming call from a blocked number." JARVIS' voice interjected, as Tony tugged his own chair over.

"Huh, my phone privilege is reinstated. Lovely." Tony answered, and I touched the pop up for the phone call, answering it. "Coulson. How's the land of enchantment?" He assumed. It turned out to be a bad idea. I gulped as a voice of thick accent, and noticeable familiarity came over the line.

"Hey, Tony, how you doing?" Vanko remarked. "I double cycle."

"You what?" I blurted in surprise.

"Tony told me double cycle's more power. Good advice." Vanko answered even though we've only met while I was Iron Woman. I did manage to slap Tony's shoulder for that though. I remembered being angry at him for telling the bad guy how to fix his mistakes. It was a vague memory, seeing as I was just extremely angry in general at the time. Not good for the remembering the memory I guess.

"Tony has always been an idiot." I sassed, even as Tony scowled at me. I licked my lips and hit the keyboard, trying to hold the call in so JARVIS could trace it.

"You sound pretty sprightly for a dead guy." Tony muttered. Dead guy? Was there something I was missing here? For all I'd kept tabs on the guy I'd completely thought he was in prison. Apparently he had died and no one decided to tell Anna.

"You, too." Vanko chuckled and it sounded like evil personified. I was surprised when Tony took a deep breath and looked down. What was wrong? I quickly hit enter, and muted our end of the call.

"JARVIS," I barked. "Trace it." Turning to Tony I squeezed his arm in support, no questions asked. I didn't need to know what was wrong right now, just that something was wrong, very wrong.

"Now, the true history of Stark name will be written." Vanko drawled, slow and easy with no worries. If he had no worries then he probably knew it took twenty-eight seconds to trace a call.

"JARVIS, I needed his location five hours ago." I muttered, taping my hands on the desk in rushed anxiety.

"Accessing the Oracle grid." JARVIS responded.

"Keep me updated, where are you now?" I asked, swiping my hand over the minimized window he had opened on one of the monitors of my screen. Up came a view of the world from a satellite with JARVIS's work on the sides, including a counter.

"Eastern Seaboard." JARVIS responded, while Tony touched some of the charts JARVIS was working through. The eastern seaboard? God, help me now.

"What your father did to my family over 40 years, I will do to you in 40 minutes." Vanko spoke again. Tony reached forward hitting the mute button again so he could try and keep Vanko talking to trace him with.

"Sounds good. Let's get together and hash it out." Tony quipped and I watched the coordinates as they came up on the top of the screen, and JARVIS zoomed in. If Vanko was anywhere in the area, and knowing how fine tuned JARVIS was I'd say he was, and then it would take us at least thirty five minutes to get there.

"Tri-state area, Manhattan and outlying boroughs." JARVIS' voice sounded tense, like programmed to when he was straining to do something. Whatever Vanko was using it was either really good tech, or to trashy tech to have a locater. It didn't matter because the line went dead. I gritted my teeth, staring at the screen. "Call trace incomplete." I slammed my hand down and stood up in frustration.

"The Expo." Tony stood up with me. "He's at the Expo." I didn't question Tony's knowledge, looking instead to the window that I'd pulled up about Hammer's slot.

"Do you think that Justin….?" I rolled my eyes and answered my own question. "Yeah, never mind he is stupid enough to help a dangerous convict escape." I looked down to the reactor. "Well, we've got forty; maybe thirty eight minutes to get there, might as well get truckin." I picked up the new reactor, yanking out the old one and hitting the tighter fitting reactor in, grunting as it kicked into gear.

"Anna!" Tony grabbed me by the shoulders as the core started to glow. I grunted, and started wheezing. "The tests weren't done."

"Embracing the reckless, I guess." I answered one hand against my new reactor. "Jesus, it tastes like coconut and copper. JARVIS, statistics, and pull the armor up. We've got places to be." I stumbled a second blinking. My lungs were clearing. I swear it felt like magic with how well I was feeling and how fast. By the time we'd even get to the Expo I'd be cleared up. "Tony put it in." I ordered, only glancing at the good statistics that were coming up from JARVIS.

"Are you all right?" Tony eyes on my stumbling walk.

"Yeah, I just feel a little drunk." I grinned back, waving away his concerns. "It's perfectly safe. I tested it for you. I guess that's another check in my box." I remarked, mentioning the tally comment from before.

Stepping on to the Iron Woman platform was like coming home, or stepping into Tony's arms again.

It felt like I belonged there.

**Marvelous, right? Again, sorry it took so long but I did warn that they would be coming a little late because of real life. I'm thinking of finally hunkering down and getting started on the long process that will be the Avengers story but it seems like so much work…. Eh maybe someday.**

**Tell me what you thought, and I love details!**


	8. If you'll ever find a moment

"What are your levels? Is everything good on your end?" I called. The thrusters were in full blast and I felt alive, my mind cleared, as we approached the Expo like two living rockets, barely two feet apart from each other.

"Yeah, at 100% still. You're looking good." Tony's face was pulled up on the side of my screen, off to the side. It was kind of like driving, with extreme multitasking instead of the general since.

"Yeah, JARVIS claims the purple worms are receding and I'll be right as rain in minutes." I paused. "You know if I don't die by whatever Hammer and Vanko have planned."

"Way to be positive, Anna. I'm really feeling the confidence." Tony sarcastically said and I chuckled.

"As if you need any more confidence." I objected, licking my lips. "Landing in 3…2…"

"1" Tony finished for me, slamming into the stage. I came through the hole that had been made in the roof, just for our appearances and grinned. While Tony had landed wonderfully, with one fist on the ground and a knee to take the weight of his fast descent, I landed on both feet, slower but it matched the image we made, me standing behind him as he rose. I frowned as JARVIS pulled up the generals, and important people in the audience, including Natasha and Happy, the last being out front. She could at least take care of herself, but Happy couldn't well not seriously.

As soon as the crowd realized what happened they started cheering. I was more concerned about what was behind Hammer, drones that looked as if they were vaguely human. A section for each part of the military. I gritted my teeth and followed Tony as we stepped on either side of Hammer.

"Where is he?" Tony barked. Justin looked pitiful. He sported a black eye and a cut to his left cheek, along with a split lip and a limp. He glared daggers at the Ironman suit and didn't look too pleased with me either. "Where is Vanko?" We looked quite an intimidating sight; we even had a slight change in our suit, a triangle instead of a circle.

"What?" Hammer played dumb, stupidly not afraid even though we could smash him with just one punch. "Who?"

"Justin, if you know what's best for you, you'd tell him." I took a step forward. The crowd had no idea what was going on and were still cheering.

"What are you two doing here, guys?" Hammer laughed it off, his idiot comments being picked up by a microphone. I glanced at the crowd, and JARVIS zoomed in on Natasha's figure. I almost missed the drones suddenly moving, zooming in on Tony and I. It was only Natasha's alert jump up that warned me.

"Tony, they are on the move." I shouted, and realized. "He's after you, they'll come after you." I braced myself, shooting off at the same time as Tony, grunting when a bullet managed to hit the back of my armor. They were shooting at us, with the audience below.

"Roger that, try and help get them shut down. Do what you can, I'll distract them." Tony ordered. I turned off from following him, and true enough the drones followed Tony and not me.

"JARVIS, connect me to Natasha." I rerouted myself back stage, the same way I had come before. It was almost deserted, but it looked like chaos had once been there. As I walked, almost running in the suit to try and find someone, or a computer to manually help I also observed the papers strewn on the floor and the dropped belongings.

And then I saw Hammer jogging up to some computer people who were his men no doubt.

"Happy with yourself, Justin?" I quizzed, taking enjoyment from seeing him squirm. I managed to flinch as I heard Tony fly by, and the drones shooting him. Suddenly I cared a little less about getting back at Justin, and more so about helping Tony. "You've been, what let me guess, locked out of the mainframe?"

"Please. Please go away. None of this would have happened had you not shown up."

"Oh really, Justin Hammer. I'm afraid that's a lie. See, messing with convicts is never a good idea; you should keep that in mind in the future for when I don't come and save your ass. By the way, nice face." I commented, grinning. "You mind telling me just where he is or will I have to _beat _it out of you." I scrunched my armored fist, letting the sound of the thruster in my hand charging scare him. Though my stress on the word beat didn't go unnoticed if the way he flinched meant anything.

"He's at my facility just don't…." Justin shuttered, backing away a step.

"Pathetic." I muttered, rolling my eyes even though he couldn't see it. My fear of him seemed irrational in this moment, in my Iron Woman suit, looking at him and finally being able to stand up for myself, and having someone who would willingly do it for me.

"I could use some help!" Tony shouted and I glanced down at his strained face in my helmet.

"I'll leave you so I can go clean up your mess, but you will be in prison. JARVIS call the NYPD and tell them what is going on." I ordered, kicking on my thrusters and flying through the rafters and back out. "Tony, they're completely locked out-"

"I heard." Tony grunted, cutting me off. I heard the sound of bullets on his armor. I pointed myself in his direction. "Congratulations by the way."

"No need to be snippy, I'm on it." I muttered back, pouting. How odd that at this point it would be me joking and not Tony. Maybe it's because I wasn't the one being chased by drones bent on killing me. I sobered a little, pushing my feet straighter in an attempt to catch up to Tony. "JARVIS, connect me to Natasha." I ordered, grunting. "Hold still you little..." I shot a missile and two of the drones that were on the ground exploded, no people harmed by the small explosions.

"Romanoff." She answered.

"Agent, I need you to go to Hammer Industries. Vanko is supposed to be there. I need you to deal with him but the main priority is these suits. They were built to fight us, so it's going to be harder to-Tony, on your six!" I warned, shooting a shoulder missile to catch a drone that was catching up to close to Tony. It didn't stop him for good but the drone faltered enough, and a few pieces fell off of him, so that Tony was no longer in mortal danger. Or more so than I could protect him against.

"Yes, ma'am." Agent Romanoff answered.

"Keep on the line. I might need feet on the ground or to know what's happening." I commanded, cursing as a few drones picked off of Tony and came to me. He was doing well by himself for now, with the dozen or so drones on his tail but now I had to dodge my own bullets. "God, I caught your disease. Why did I not see this coming?" I grouched, turning once I was in free air to shot a thruster blast at a drone, hitting it but again only stunning it.

"Well, what can I say? I've been around." Tony snapped back. I laughed in a short way.

"Vinci, they've sent drones on the ground, that can't fly, they're taking out the Expo audience." Natasha informed me.

"JARVIS, video feed of the ground drones." I ordered, slowing down so that I could grab the drone following me and grabbing out his main power structure, his head. I grunted, kicking the thrusters back on and turning around to head for the drones. They'd camped out on the stairs of the auditorium for the Stark Expo and had large missiles on their shoulders that they were aiming out towards the audience that was fleeing.

"Shit, shit, shit." I muttered, flying and not slowing down to pummel a ground drone, smashing my fist into its glowing 'face' and then swinging my heavy armored leg out to catch another one off balance.

"Happy Hogan is taking me to Hammer Industries." Natasha suddenly piped up.

"Oh for Fuck's sake of all times." I responded, kicking up in the air to land my full weight down on another drone, and shooting of a repulsor blast to explode the missile it had managed to get into mid-air, harmless.

"I think this is the most I've heard you swear before." Tony remarked, and I saw him fly by, drones still tailing him. He helpfully blew one of the last of the land drones out. But the moment I did JARVIS warned me of more, that were aiming their very large guns precariously at Tony, and the drones behind him.

"Ah, I'm feeling more coming on to." I shouted, kicking off to reach them, managing to get there before any of the bullets hit Tony, though one did shoot down one of his many followers. I kicked off of that one, hitting the next one with a fist, and then pumping into the air again, kicking the next one, thrusters still going, sending me twirling into the other one, knocking both me and it off balance.

I huffed and groaned, scrambling up to rocket off, hitting the last with a repulsor blast to its fake face, melting it off with how close I was too it's 'body'.

"I'm in." Natasha shouted. That was quick. I didn't have enough time for any other thought, as JARVIS showed me more of the first land drones and he was aiming for two little kids, one I remembered. My heart might have just succumbed to the palladium if I hadn't been sure the new arc reactor was working.

I shot off, rocketing behind the brother, as Amanda clutched onto him, a tiny fake Iron Woman costume on her. I shot a repulsor, with a little extra juice into the drone's gun, just as Tony landed and did the same, with the little kids adorably raising their shining LED lights. It was still sad to think of what would have become of them, had we not been there.

"Nice work, kid." Tony said aloud, shooting off again to lead the drones away. I bent my faceplate back for a second.

"Get to your mother, it's not safe." I told them, poking Amanda's chest and grinning. "Mini-Me." I nodded my faceplate down and shot off, kicking a drone in the face that was still in the crowd. So far only a few rockets had gotten off and I'd seen no more than injuries pull up on JARVIS' scanners. An A+ so far.

"Let's get this away from the Expo." Tony ordered.

"Sir, yes sir." I acknowledged, spinning in the air to miss a drone trying to catch up with the pack. I didn't have to turn around to take it out, as I hit the next one coming of the two. I sped up and managed to meet Tony as he came out from under a highway on a bridge. Now we were finally together in the suits again. He was flying below me, and I was above and beside him. Odd how these things work out some times. I looked back, watching a few peel off.

"Hey, hey. Some just peeled off. Did I not just get here?" I asked, annoyed.

"He's splitting us up." Tony realized.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going after them anyways." I turned around, by kicking off the thrusters, turning my body and turning them back on. "You can handle the rest, right?" I asked.

"Got it." He muttered, and I grunted as a sudden bullet hit me. The ones that had peeled off were behind me now, having ambushed me. Guess I'm finally a worry in Vanko's eyes. I went straight up, and then turned to the right, trying to shake them for a second, alas it was no good. I managed to run one of them into a building, but JARVIS showed from a camera on the streets that he hacked; the drone wasn't damaged and instead just got back up after shooting a few shots from the ground.

"Keep it up, JARVIS." I muttered, looking away from the video as it disappeared, instead looking to Tony's face. "They can't react well on their own, use that." I remarked, spinning over to the left four times to miss some of the bullets they were uselessly shooting. They wouldn't crack my armor with bullets, at least not yet. Especially with what looked like Hammer Tech attached.

"More drones have been deployed." JARVIS interjected by voice command.

"Ugh, great. Natasha sweetheart, any time now." I remarked, flinching when a bullet went off my helmet, making a loud, ringing ding in my ears.

"I'm in. He's not here." She said.

"Do you see the computer he used?" I desperately asked.

"And Happy?" Tony asked.

"He took one guard down." She responded. I chuckled and hit back a blaster.

"Okay, I've got an idea." Tony hummed to himself. "JARVIS pop a video on Anna's feed, she's going to want to see this." He dictated. JARVIS in fact did, again using a street camera view. "Drop your socks and grab your Crocs. We're about to get wet on this ride." Tony remarked and I laughed at his joke, even as I circled a building trying to crash the drones. I watched him go specifically threw the unisphere, a main attraction in the middle of the Expo city, wrecking the bots on the part where Africa was shown.

"Oh, nice!" I commented, appreciatively.

"Good, huh?" Tony laughed, but some of the drones made it past, just one.

"Wonderful, wonderful. A full ten I would say." I looked behind me, with a quick glance. I had one drone. When I turned back I could see Tony headed my way. "Hey, duck down just a few feet in front of me. We'll meet in the Cherry Blossom field." I commanded. Tony met my eyes on the video and grinned.

"What movie is that from?" He furrowed his eyebrow, and it amazed me how easily he could read my plans. I giggled.

"Oh, does it matter?" I responded, shooting faster at Tony. "Hey, you've got a few noticeable dents. That's going to take hours to get out." It was kind of code for, you look like shit and are probably hurt in some way, shape, or fashion.

"You don't look so good yourself." Tony told me, as we hit the mark, three feet from each other we both hit off our thrusters, but instead of dropping we collided, and I clutched onto him with a squeak as we fell through the glass of the dome roof of the Cherry Blossom field room, landing hard on the river bed.

"Oh, not all as planned." I noted, as he rolled his armor off of me. I did see up above the drones crashed with each other. "Those aren't the last." I noted, taking a moment to catch my breath.

"Getting old there, Anna?" Tony questioned, sticking out a hand. I took it, pulling myself up.

"If I remember correctly, you are older than me." I noted, and laughed when he pulled up his faceplate, grinning at me. I pulled my own up as well. "Natasha, how's that computer coming?" I looked around us for the extra pack but JARVIS only showed them flying our way.

"Pack's coming in hot." Natasha paused before continuing. "I'm reading significantly higher readings on both your output and your vitals all look promising, congratulations."

"Yeah, for the moment we aren't dying." Tony joked, winking at me. I punched his armor half-heartedly.

"For the moment." I breathed. "Is there a way that I can say yes to going back to Venice for your birthday?" Tony laughed, sarcastically.

"Birthday present? I thought the Valentine's day present would have been sufficient-" Natasha started.

"AH! No, no. He lost that privileged decision when he risked his life. We never even made it to the hotel room." I interjected; looking away from Tony and towards the sky.

"What? Valentine's day present?" Tony questioned, looking surprised. I grinned and looked away.

"Nice weather we're having huh? Splendid really, you know besides the Hammer drones." I avoided. Tony groaned and banged his fist against his forehead, only it hit his faceplate and I busted out laughing, hysterically at his face. "Too bad, huh? Could have been in bed right now." I joked.

"Oh, please." Tony scoffed, pushing his faceplate down.

"Aw don't be miffed." I pouted at him, and then frowned. "Hey, no joking they're-" And I was cut off by the arrival of more drones. It was horrible and tiring sounding. I sighed, slapping down my faceplate. It was as if all hell broke loose, the drones coming at us. I used missiles, bullets and even repulsor blasts and they just kept coming back. Together Tony and I worked around each other, taking them out and getting spattered with the grease from their inner workings. It was amazing how well we were working together, a symbolism for our relationship all together, I would like to gleefully think.

"Hey, let's use the lasers. There aren't many drones left." I noted.

"Yeah, great idea. One, two…" Tony didn't even say three and we both hit the button, twirling around each other and shooting off red lasers from the backs of our hands, slicing down the drones, and a few trees with them.

"Hey, that wasn't so bad." I said. We ended up both crouching down and I sighed, using my hands to help me up. "Yeah, a vacation sounds good right about now." I couldn't do anything with my back that was hurting. "Natasha, you still there?" I questioned.

"You've got another coming. This one looks different." Natasha reported and I looked around, seeing a light rocketing at us. I clenched my fingers, rolling my shoulders. "The repulsor signature is significantly higher." I licked my lips, but suddenly Tony turned me around.

"JARVIS, full screen me for a second." I heard him order.

"Tony, we don't have time to-" I started, trying to look up but Tony snapped my face forward with one phrase.

"Marry me."

**So, I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter. I think that fanfiction stopped sending out messages or something? Anyways, here's the next chapter and I hope they send out a message or something so you guys can read it.**


	9. Spare a thought for me

"What?" I blurted, surprised. "This isn't the time to joke Tony-"

"I'm not joking, marry me." Tony repeated. I could see why he would full screen me, after all if his face wasn't so serious, I'd be a little angry right now. At the moment I'm more stunned.

"Save it for later, guys." Natasha anxiously shouted. Tony released me, and our full screen flickered away as with a slam Vanko landed. I knew it was him automatically. If the monstrous armor, actually looking a lot like Stane's armor with more squares, wasn't enough he lifted his helmet off.

"Good to be back."

"This is not good." I muttered, reeling from the question but for a struggling moment I locked it away to deal with Vanko, and then I would scream at Tony. I moaned piteously as Vanko stretched out his arms, causing whips to come out. They weren't even like last time. This time they were downright sparking up the entire place. Before it hadn't been more than electricity on a wire really.

Tony aimed with his shoulder rockets, but they didn't penetrate the armor, and Vanko just put his helmet back on. I cursed as he swung the whips out, forcing Tony and I to roll apart. I used a missile to aim at him but before it could launch he whipped it off. Tony tried getting in from above, while he was distracted with me but the two whips for two people ratio meant a whip came up and snagged around his waist. I could hear the grunt of pain as he was smashed into a rock.

I shot my more puny bullets to distract him, while Tony tried to use my favorite maneuver of blowing into Vanko. He knocked him back a pace, but it hurt Tony more as Vanko's bulk sent him flying, destroying a Japanese themed arc. I moved my hands up, but not in time as the whip wrapped around my neck. I convulsed as it started eating through my neck armor.

"Tony!" I shouted, grunting.

"Use it against him!" He shouted, getting up in the distance. I calculated as fast as I could.

"It'll take more than whips!" I fired up Vanko. He took the bait, surprisingly seeing as how I was not doing so well and he swung the other whip up, and I caught it with my arm, the one I wasn't using to try and pull off the whip around my neck. I jerked on them both, pulling him down to his knees.

"Neck braces, failing." JARVIS told me. I grunted as Natasha started trying to tell me stuff about his suit, trying to help. But Tony understood my plan. He jumped up, and I could hear the Gallagher charging, right before Vanko opened his plate, thinking Tony gone, to speak with me.

He got a blast to the back, getting sent over me, and therefore spinning me over with him. I groaned in pain as my back was slammed again into the rock bed. "JUST FABULOUS!" I shouted venomously, ripping off the whips, and using my hands, while he was decommissioned to break the whips in half, causing the circuits to malfunction and die out.

Struggling up to my feet, I pulled my sparking helmet off, sweating. Walking over to where Tony was standing over Vanko, I was cautious. He wasn't dead, but his wasn't moving. I sighed in relief, his arc reactor wasn't advanced enough and it was failing power now, either that or he'd seriously hit his head. Seeing as the reactor was flickering, and he was bleeding from the mouth, I like to believe a little bit of both. I'd hardly stepped up to him when he spoke.

"You lose."

And then his reactor started flashing red and I panicked, not getting it. I looked around, all of the drones, completely destroyed or not, were blinking red in their reactors.

"All these drones are bombs. We gotta get out of here." Tony said.

"But Vanko!" I shouted, gulping and wincing before taking off with Tony. He wasn't my problem, he did this to himself and I refused any more hesitation then saying his name. Flying as fast as I could I zoom off, following Tony to a faraway roof top, still scouting for civilians.

"Natasha, are you far enough away?" I demanded, rolling around so I could look behind me while still flying forward towards the rooftop. The air on my face caused me to have to slow down to avoid damage to my face.

"I'm fine, Barton got me. We're returning to Vinci mansion for the night. We'll regroup later, once we're clear." Natasha answered.

"Suit requires massive repairs to thigh and back plates, suggest landing." JARVIS interrupted.

"Ugh, see ya Natasha, give Barton my best." I signed off of that. I managed to land on the roof, just as she cut the line herself. "Tony, I'm getting out. I suggest you do as well. JARVIS, open mode." I ordered, not waiting on Tony's answer. JARVIS went into fold mode, a few sparks flying from the damaged parts. I could see Tony himself having to jerk his arm guard off and then deciding to do the same as me.

Folding out mode, of course being where we can just walk out of the suit and it stays open so that if we want to walk back into it in emergency situations then we could in a hurry. I huffed, as I took a step out. "JARVIS close it and send it to the mansion. I'm calling a taxi." I ordered, and JARVIS cut onto the offline machine, not cutting on anything but the thrusters as he sent it back.

"Ugh, that wasn't so bad." Tony muttered, rubbing his neck. I groaned in reply, tempted to lie down on the roof. It would be so much more appeasing to my back than standing would be.

"Not that bad? I think I broke my back. How many times did he slam me into the ground with those whips?" I incredulously demanded, sitting, instead of lying down on the ground, cautiously on the edge of the roof, letting out deep breaths. "God, I hope every day isn't this bad." I pulled at the under suit that I wore for getting in the Iron Woman suit. It was incredibly tight, and actually very comfortable, but not something that I wanted to be in while being seen by the public.

"It won't be." Tony remarked, sitting on the roof opposite me with no delay. I stared at him with my eyebrows raised. His smile was actually soft, but his eyes intense. I blinked. "You didn't answer my question."

"Well, I was a little busy fighting off a Hammeroid attack." I sarcastically replied. He moved closer and I swallowed in nervousness as my adrenaline wore out, and I began to sober. Biting my lip, I actually thought that I might bite it off.

Tony was completely serious. I finally had time to calm down and stare at him. He was perfect, in his tight suit and his hair all ruffled from being in the helmet. I kind of liked him this way.

"Anna." He prompted. I grinned shyly at him.

"I'm sorry I don't remember the question." I teased him, reaching my hand out and tugging on one of the not so Velcro strips, so the skin-hugging material pulled lose right along the line, opening the way to his chest.

"Will. You. Marry me?" He asked, taking my hand to stop me, and I kept my eyes on his hand as he brought it down. Again, sentimental and romantic Tony. My cheeks flushed and I licked my chapped and bitten lips.

"Tony-" I started, looking up but my brief silence must have perturbed him because he started speaking over me.

"You deserve better, I know that." Tony didn't let me speak, but I was to speechless to interrupt him here anyways. Ridiculous of him to think it. "You've stood by me at my worst, and at my absolute worst. You've managed to get through tough times with me, and taken such great care of me throughout the years. I can't ask you to put up with me for the rest of your life, but you know I thought I'd put it out there as an option. You know, if you're dying some time again. I am after all, pretty handsome so I think for a couple more years I could be-"

"Yes." I stopped him, cupping his mouth and grinning. My mouth literally could not stretch any farther over my teeth. "Don't give me some bullshit about me putting up with you. I can be just as bad, as today has shown, and I like taking care of you. It's very odd to me, not that I don't love it, when you try to take care of me. So yes, I would love for us to spend the rest of our questionable lives together, taking care of, and putting up with each other."

"Yes?" Tony asked his eyes large and it was like the orbs were even grinning, but his face was to blank, almost except for the hopeful rise at the edge of his mouth.

"Wait, you do have a ring right?" I stopped, narrowing my eyes. "Cause, I'm going to want a ring. I'll have to rub this in Everhart's face."

"Of course." Tony answered, looking down and screwing his eyes up, then looking over to the Iron suit. "Hold on, hold on." He kept repeating as he jumped over to the suit, looking through the opening before he found something he must have hidden. My surprise couldn't get larger as he brought over the ring.

He literally had a ring in there. It wasn't in a black box, and it didn't say tiffany's or anything on it but it was perfect. It was a little miniature arc reactor, it was even…

"Is this…?" I let him pick up my limp hand.

"Yeah, it's from the arc reactor that I had to bust to put in my chest, you know the one. It won't function or anything, but it'll still glow." Tony told me, sliding it on my appropriate finger. I could do nothing less but stare at it in wonder. I recognized even the feel of the silver colored medal – palladium. "I know it's corny, but I thought it was uh…..I thought you'd like it better then something store bought, since you could afford all of those so-"

"Tony." I looked up, a surprised giggle dropping out of my mouth. "You're rambling again."

"Sorry." He flatly stated.

"It's perfect, and I love you." I told him, launching forward, to kiss him. We almost went over the edge but hey, we'd already taken another step off the metaphorical edge, of our relationship.

Tony Stark was in love with me.

Tony Stark was my _fiancé._

**Bonus**

"Are you sure?" I muttered for the four thousandth time. A building of complete insignificance was where Tony and I currently were. Director Fury was apparently set up here He had screens around us, to give us information and hold their sigh. I looked around, tapping my fingers on the desk.

"Yeah, why not. I mean you invested in my company, square deal." Tony motioned away my concerns.

"I'm just saying, they don't have the best records." Tony ignored me, in favor of dragging over the file across from him. He didn't even get to open it, before Director Fury was there, taking it back.

"I don't think I want you looking at that." He remarked, sliding it back to him from where he'd stopped Tony from opening it. I smiled at Fury. "I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore." Oh yeah, the Avengers Initiative thing he'd tried to get Tony into.

"Good to see you again." I greeted, he nodded.

"Now this," He picked up another folder. "On the other hand, is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you." I blinked. Oh…OH so it wasn't just _me _she'd been assessing. Damn, I should have seen that coming from two miles off. She really is as good as people said.

"What about Anna?" Tony pouted, pointing his thumb at me. I snorted even as Tony took the file and flipped it open.

"Ms. Vinci already read hers and knows what she has to do to enter." Director Fury nodded to me. Tony raised an eyebrow at me, looking up from his reading.

"We weren't speaking. It's a complicated story. I didn't take it well, blah blah. That kind of emotional stuff." I waved it away this time, leaning on the table they'd had set up on the concrete floor. "Nothing really that I didn't know. I just didn't want to admit it."

"Right." Just from Tony's phrasing I could hear the 'we will be speaking later' tone.

"Read yours." Director Fury invited. Tony looked down at his, skimming through for the good or bad parts.

" 'Personality overview. Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior.'" He stopped looking up at Director Fury, eyebrow's raised sarcastically. "In my own defense, that was last week." Director Fury didn't say anything and Tony went back to it. " 'Prone to self-destructive tendencies.' I was dying. I mean, please. And aren't we all." He stopped again.

"Ah, no you do that all the time." I stopped him, even if his reaction was funny. I'd already freaked out about my own assessment; I'm allowing myself to laugh at Tony's. He glared mockingly at me before returning to the folder.

"Textbook…narcissism?" I couldn't stop the snort that came out, or the laughter. Don't get me wrong, Tony is probably as insecure as me, as I've recently noted, but they also hit the nail on the hammer. While he hates himself, he loves himself. It's just _Tony._ The reaction from Tony was just as priceless. He looked up and stared Director Fury straight in the eye. "Agreed."

"Keep going." I muttered, swallowing any other laughter.

"Okay, here it is. Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes." Tony stopped, putting the folder down but Fury's face made my smile drop in dead anticipation. This wasn't going to be good.

"Read on."

"Tony Stark not…recommended?" He muttered the last part and moved his head back in surprise. "That doesn't make any sense. How can you…" He put the folder down, using his hands to gesticulate his words. "…but not approve me?" I blocked out what he kept speaking, instead staring at the folder, and then bringing it over to read it myself.

"Makes less sense then my reason. 'Not recommended until seen about' like I'm going to be going to some therapist." I rolled my eyes, cutting into whatever excuses Tony was making, he looked to me in surprise but Fury leant forward.

"This all leads us to believe at this juncture we'd only like to use you as a consultant." He'd leant forward, crossing his arms on the table. Tony met the Director's eye for a second. Before sticking his hand out. Fury took it and Tony stood, fake smiling.

"You can't afford me." I watched him put walls up. Oh, Fury had pissed him off. Not good for his future adventures. Tony released his hand, walking towards the door. But he stopped. "Then again, I will wave my customary retainer in exchange for a small favor." I rose as he turned back around. "Anna and I are being honored in Washington and we need a presenter."

"I'll see what I can do." Fury answered.

"Great, I'll be in the car." Tony told me, turning back around and walking away. I snorted in laughter and shook my head.

"What about you?" I turned to look at Fury. "You're still technically the owner and operator of S.H.I.E.L.D. You weren't said no to. Just a bit of therapy and you could make it." He offered. I laughed softly.

"Sorry, Fury. I'll keep my current post for now. You don't get me, without Tony." I started swaggering after Tony, humming. "Oh, by the way I'd be careful whose toes you step on, Tony can be feisty when he's angry." I called back.

My life was finally looking up. I was receiving an award of honor, Tony had proposed, and there was currently no one trying to kill me. For now it was perfect but knowing Tony, it'd only be a matter of time before something crazy happened.


End file.
